Popular Newport restaurant Bistrot Pierre has announced it has closed permanently after seven years in the city. The restaurant, which offered French-style cuisine, was one of the original traders in Friars Walk shopping centre when the £90m development opened in November 2015.
But it appears to have closed its doors for good as a sign in the window this week read: "This Bistrot is now closed. Thank you for all your custom and support over the years." A Friars Walk spokesman confirmed the closure on Tuesday, saying: "We can confirm that Bistrot Pierre has closed." No reason for the sudden closure was given.
Bistrot Pierre joins a number of other long-established eateries in Newport to shut in the past month. In August tapas restaurant Monusk, which had been based overlooking the River Usk for five years, announced its "emotional" sudden closure while popular pizza parlour Ragtag Pizza in Clarence Place announced a few days later that it had ceased trading, saying the current climate "isn't suitable" for continuing in business. Others in the industry, including fish and chip shops, have also warned they face increasing pressure due to rising costs. You can read more about that here.
Read more: 'We might not be here next year': The mounting challenges facing Wales' hospitality industry
In mid-2020 Bistrot Pierre's Newport branch escaped closure after the chain was sold and 120 jobs were lost, including at the Cardiff site. There are now 18 remaining restaurants in the UK.
The Newport branch has been removed from the listed restaurants on the Bistrot Pierre website as well as the Friars Walk website. It is also listed as 'permanently closed' on Google. It means the only remaining Bistrot Pierre in Wales is at Oyster Wharf in the Mumbles.
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