The owners of a Clevedon restaurant have announced their 'gut-wrenching' decision to shut - because they can’t find a chef. Dom Lamy, who owns Puro, is being forced to close on May 1 after failing to recruit a cook.
Dom, who opened Puro in 2017, says he made the difficult decision despite the restaurant having its "best year ever" in 2022. The bistro, which has welcomed celebrity diners including Jeremy Clarkson, has made it into the prestigious Trenchmans which showcases the best restaurants in the South West every year since 2019, reports Somerset Live.
“Over the years we have got busier and busier and last year we had our best year yet," said Dom. "We are not closing for commercial reasons - we simply cannot recruit chefs.
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“We have been working with recruitment agencies and have exhausted every avenue possible but have been unable to find staff to run our kitchen.” Staff at Puro will be transferred to Dom’s other successful restaurant Escala in Clevedon.
Dom says he hopes to re-open in the future when a chef can be found. “It has been a gut-wrenching decision to make to close the restaurant,” he said.
“And it will be a blow to the local economy and all our regular customers. The issue of recruiting chefs is something which is being seen across the UK, with many restaurants being forced to close because of staffing issues.
“We pay good money and offer a good work to life balance but are still struggling to recruit.” Dom says as soon as he can recruit a chef, Puro will re-open.
“We are here and ready to go,” he said. “We have a long lease on the building and I am continuing to search for chefs.
“It is goodbye for now, but not forever.” Puro will close from May 1. Customers who have made bookings are being contacted.
Dom’s other businesses Escala and Vintage and Vine will continue to trade as normal. Anyone who is interested in working at Puro should contact Dom at dom@purorestaurant.co.uk.
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