10 January 2024 , 13:06
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Simon Rimmer has revealed why he closed his vegetarian restaurant after three decades.
The TV chef announced earlier this month that Greens in West Didsbury, Manchester, was closing its doors with immediate effect. Simon, 60, opened the restaurant with his friend Simon Connolly in 1990. He stated that the eatery had become "unviable" due to the increase in rent, higher costs for raw materials, heating, lighting and power, as well as staff wages.
During an appearance on Good Morning Britain, he spoke to anchors Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley about his decision. After the fallout from Covid lockdowns and the rising cost of living, Simon believes there is a "crisis" within the hospitality industry. He went on to say: "Post Covid, heat, lighting and power has gone up in the region of 400% on average for most businesses.
Simon Rimmer explained the closure behind Greens in West Didsbury, Manchester (ITV)"The cost of employing people rises all the time and rightly so, people need to earn a decent wage. As a specific, our lease was up for Greens in West Didsbury and the landlord's increased the rent by 35%. I've been through two major recessions since we've opened restaurants in the last 30 years and during those, you think 'Ok, we'll come out the other side of this'."
Simon continued: "We've hit the point where many hospitality businesses go 'I actually can't afford to open the doors, no matter what I do, I can't charge enough to make a small amount of profit'." Discussing his competition, Simon explained that demand for supermarket bundle deals and online takeaways has also risen.
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He admits it became near impossible to make a profit on the eatery (Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)"Say it's cold at the moment, for you to come and eat in my restaurant," he said before continuing: "We're a medium price range, an average main course is about 15 quid, for me to persuade you guys to get into a cab, come to me, spend say a minimum of £70, come out in the cold and then go back as opposed to going to your local supermarket, spending 20 quid, you get decent food and a bottle of wine and a pudding for £20, its a big, big competition."
The Wirral-born chef admitted that it was a "heartbreaking" decision and despite the restaurant always being busy, they struggled to make any money. He went on to suggest that a cut in vat could "really, really help" the hospitality industry before suggesting: "If it was halved, if it was dropped from 20 to 10%, it would give us a fighting chance."