Soaring costs are forcing a Londonderry restaurant to close for good, its owner has said.
Sean Harrigan, owner and head chef at The Sooty Olive, said increases in energy and food bills and business rates were all factors in his decision.
It will close later this month.
Mr Harrigan told BBC Radio Foyle’s North West Today program that it was becoming increasingly difficult to meet the rising costs.
“You were constantly struggling to pay bills,” Mr Harrigan said.
“If you’ve had a bit of a bad week or two, it’s been very difficult to bounce back.
“You had to find that money from somewhere, and it just got harder and harder to find the money to stay open.”
He added: “Every corner we turned, everywhere we looked, everything was going up and for a small restaurant like us, it just wasn’t worth it.”
Selena Horshi of Derry Chamber of Commerce said there was a sense of sadness and shock at the restaurant’s closure.
“I know it’s so hard at the moment but The Sooty Olive has such a fantastic reputation,” she said.
“I think it really brings out how difficult it is when somewhere with such a great reputation, such a good position in the city, somewhere they’ve always felt busy, they still can’t justify keeping their doors open.”
The Derry restaurant is the third in Northern Ireland to announce its closure in recent days.
An estate agent in east Belfast and Clenaghans in Aghalee in County Antrim also said they would close their doors.
Ms Horshi said the hospitality, retail and tourism businesses in Northern Ireland needed a similar price relief scheme to that which exists in England.
In November 2022, a 75% business rates relief scheme was introduced there to support businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure industries.
A similar scheme in Northern Ireland, Ms Horshi said, would directly reduce the running costs of businesses.
Without government help, further closures are a real concern, she added.
image source, Kiera Duddy
This is a view shared by Kiera Duddy, owner of Pickled Duck Cafes in Derry.
She said that because it was impossible to pass on rising costs to customers, it was becoming increasingly challenging to operate in the hospitality sector.
“You have to keep your finger on the pulse, you can’t take your eyes off the bills, you have to put in all the hours, you can’t take a break,” she said.
“It’s everything, every bill, VAT, rates, everything. I think with VAT we need help and a little bit of interest relief will help us a lot”.
“We live on our own money”
Dianne Guthrie owns the Brew Room Tea Room in Derry’s Waterside.
Her lifelong ambition was to open a cafe when she retired.
Her business rates cost around £4,500 a year. That’s a huge amount for any small business to absorb, she said.
“I’m not even making any income from the business since it’s only been open for a year. Me and my husband are living on our own money right now,” she said.
Stormont Treasury said there was a range of help for business payers in Northern Ireland.
That help, the department said, included the Small Business Rate Relief Scheme, which supports 2,900 payers.
“The Finance Minister has also drawn up legislation on the restoration of the Back to Business scheme and rural ATM exemption, which will be debated in the Assembly early next month,” the department said in a statement.
It added: “The reintroduction of these schemes will help further support small businesses on our high streets.”
