Stoke Newington's Wander, Brighton's Amarillo, and The Laughing Heart in Hackney all announce their closure
Throughout this week Alexis Noble, Ian Swainson, and Charlie Mellor all announced on Instagram that their restaurants will be closing their doors.
In the announcement on Amarillo's Instagram account, Ian said, "Amarillo will be closing its doors. It’s been an incredible journey and I’m so grateful to have done it with these people! You will be in my heart always."
He then went on to thank everyone who had supported the restaurant, especially those who had made Amarillo possible. He finished the announcement by saying, "Our final service will be Saturday 20th August and then I hang my apron."
In a similar vein, Charlie Mellor announced the closing of The Laughing Heart by saying, "It is with great sadness that I must announce the sudden closure of The Laughing Heart. Last Sunday the 31st of July was our final service."
He explained that "the business had fallen victim to these dark times we live in." Along with that, he said: "I hope that our beloved guests, our industry, and the wider world has appreciated what we made."
Following that he apologised to the restaurant's suppliers and said, "It breaks my heart that it has had to end this way. I hope you all know that I gave it my all to try and make things right in business, because of my respect for you as people."
He finished the announcement by thanking his staff, even though there were too many to name specifically, and then thanked the "beloved' guests and his family who had supported him and the restaurants.
However, unlike Amarillo and The Laughing Heart, the Wander's closure was far more positive with Aussie chef Alexis starting her announcement by saying "I'm excited to finally be able to announce that this iteration of Wander will be closing on Nov 8th 2022."
She explained that the restaurant will be closing exactly 5 years since it opened and said, "what I have achieved in this space has exceeded my wildest expectations." After that, she described that this wasn't a quick thing and that he had actually made the decision in January.
While Alexis did admit that it was "a bittersweet decision" she said that since the pandemic she had realised how much she had missed her family and that "it made her realise that she wanted to be able to spend more time at home."
She finished the announcement by saying: "I’m sorry if this comes as a shock to some people but please don’t be sad, or view this news as negative, I’ve taken a long time to come to this decision, and whilst I will miss this space, I am super excited for the future."
"The reality is this whole thing has been well beyond anything I could have ever dreamed of and I look forward to celebrating Wanders’ success with you over the next few months."
