The Chingford branch of Prezzo was one of 46 branches shut down yesterday
A chain restaurant in a listed pub building in Chingford has abruptly shut down, with the company citing a sharp rise in utility bills and the price of ingredients.
On 24th April, Italian restaurant company Prezzo announced it would shut down 46 loss-making branches, including the restaurant in The Green.
A Prezzo spokesperson said the company’s utility bills had more than doubled in the last year, while the price of spaghetti had risen by 40%.
However, many locals did not mourn the loss, with some seeing it as an opportunity for the listed building, built in 1898, to return to its original use as a pub called The Bull and Crown.
Responding to the news on a public Facebook group, Sharma Hussein wrote: “I’ve worked as a Chingford cabbie for the last three years and I’ve never seen anyone going to that restaurant.”
Another resident, Adam Roper, wrote: “Turn it back into a pub and a restaurant upstairs. Let’s go back to the good old days.”
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The closure of 46 Prezzo branches has put 810 workers at the risk of redundancy and comes only two years after the group shut 22 other branches, axing 216 jobs. The chain will now have 97 restaurants remaining, with around 2,000 staff.
Dean Challenger, chief executive of Prezzo, said: “The last three years have been some of the hardest times I have ever seen for the high street and I’m extremely proud of the way our colleagues have retained Prezzo’s position as an appealing, trusted, great value food and drink experience.
“But the reality is that the cost-of-living crisis, the changing face of the high street and soaring inflation has made it impossible to keep all our restaurants operating profitably.
“We believe the tough decisions we are making today will ensure Prezzo can continue serving communities with high-quality, accessible Italian-inspired meals for many more years to come.”
Private real estate investment firm, Cain International, bought Prezzo in December 2020 after the chain fell into administration during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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