Dublin Restaurants ‘Not Sustainable’

Derry Clarke has said that the restaurant business in Dublin is no longer sustainable.

His comments come in the wake of Dylan McGrath announcing the closure of two of his restaurants in the capital with immediate effect. He has announced the closure of Brasserie Sixty6 and Rustic Stone in the city centre. However, Fade Street Social will remain open.

Derry Clarke, who closed his L'Ecrivain restaurant four years ago, said Dublin is “too pricey”. Speaking to the Irish Sunday Mirror, he said:

“I agree with Dylan. Running a restaurant in Dublin is not sustainable. When we closed up L'Ecrivain, the overheads were so high. Every month the bills just kept coming, and we felt it. It's why we really closed too.”

He added: “A lot of my colleagues are saying how hard it is. Restaurants have everything going into them, labour costs, rent, rates, energy costs and VAT at 13.5 per cent, which is really difficult.”

Dylan McGrath said that it is a very challenging time for stand-alone restaurant models.

“Rustic Stone and Brasserie Sixty6 have been very successful restaurants in Dublin city for a long time, but hospitality is changing and we believe our strong work ethic is better applied to new and different opportunities. We will be focused on Fade Street Social and making it the best it can be.”

Brasserie Sixty6 has been in operation for 25 years while Rustic Stone has been in business for 15 years.

Last September a rescue plan devised by Azets Ireland for the company behind Brasserie Sixty6 was approved by creditors, following the withdrawal of an objection in the Circuit Court. Azets was appointed as a process adviser to Home RBVR in 2022 under the Small Companies Administration Process (SCARP).

The company required restructuring in order to be able to continue to trade because it had amassed significant debt to creditors, including Revenue, as a result of availing of the debt warehousing scheme during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The company behind Rustic Stone also successfully emerged from the SCARP process in 2022.