Presenter on LBC now saying one of the problems is "he is producing Pizza Express type food at double the price when people are looking for value for money" and the presenter lives in Tunbridge Wells said he was surprised that he even opened a restaurant there as he says there is just not the footfall on that road for that style of place to survive.

I've been to the Manchester one. First time was fine; second time was dire, both food and service way below par. So bad that when we complained they offered us a free meal next time we went.

We went for the freebie and it was still pretty poor. But free, so we just ate it and went.

There won't be a fourth visit.

I was surprised to see it wasn't one of the closures.

I like Jamie and his cooking style, and he does seem to want to do some good, but whoever advises him about his restaurants need to get the sack pronto. Maybe it's his nan.

No I mean something like this
Rick James PWC's Head of Pubs and Restaurants stated that Oliver was re evaluating and reappraising their existing portfolio, which was similar to Wagamamas, pizza hut and Eds diners.
He said it wasn't down to Brexit alone and other factors were at play which means businesses in the sector had to look where they could maximise return on investments.

If you must continually criticise Brexit please be honest re the facts as even Oliver isn't blaming Brexit.

As opposed to blaming everything on Brexit you mean?!

He couldn't be suffering as the 6 out of 42 he is closing do not make enough money as thy are in the wrong locations and are over[priced for the quality of food ? And if he is closing due to the drop in the pound caused by the vote then it does beg the question as to why he announced he is opening more restaurants this year in the UK under the Barbecoa brand which have imported items as well ?




No but people are seeing it is stupid to blame things such as this on Brexit which many who voted to remain are agreeing with as well. Brexit has become the cheap and easy way to issue bad news without taking any personal responsibility .

so tempting to spell the fourth word correctly for you but would result in another ban

don't see the connection with brexit- pasta cost up? There's more tourists in london , and supposedly more disposable income still elsewhere - before recession hits. the rise inminimum wage may have hit more?.

The basic problem may be as you say, I went to one of these near London Bridge and it was tacky, Us style food, slow service, undermanned, and almost empty, at the start of rush hour.

It appears to be the ones without year round tourism footfall or local regulars that are closing

Seems to be. Central London seems to have the opposite problem - some small restaurants are closing, as landlords move in boutique shops, and the cheaper good chains are moving out - to be replaced by the ones that offer the same steak for £10 more.

London has a huge issue coming up for smaller/independent businesses this year ( large ones as well but they do have more money in reserves to try and deal with it ) . Whilst round the country many Business Rates are falling in London BR are increasing based on information supplied to the VOA by the local boroughs, most London businesses are seeing their rateable value increasing by a minimum of 100% and will not be able to afford it but are being told by the VOA they will have to appeal and pay in the meantime and appeals last time round were taking up to five years.

Interesting that now councils will be able to keep more of the BR thy collect that in London they have suddenly provided info that increase these rates by such a large sum

Ours on one premises has seen an increase of 109%

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/ce...-a3358126.html

Or as it seems in Cheltenham, he's simply been overtaken by the many new restaurants and foodie bars which have opened here in the last few years!

His businesses were in trouble a few years ago and I believe he shut some then but now it's the fault of Brexit.

Any excuse but the truth Jamie.

Carluccios Italian.. Jamie's.. Isn't. Seemed an odd choice for someone who's brand is cheeky cockney. And if his involvement was just menu planning, probably should have franchised it rather than taking on all the overheads.

I've been to the Cambridge one twice for work meals (American visitors are always keen to go for some odd reason) but I've been underwhelmed by it. The bar is nice enough (as long as someone else is paying) but the food has been disappointing. It's not somewhere I'd go if I was spending my own money as Cambridge isn't short of decent places to eat.

This is fantastic news, hopefully at last he will do as he [promised] threatened and leave the UK if Leave won. How embarrassing for him that he is still here. Still with the closure of these restaurants, one hopes this will lead to him honouring his promise.

The distinction between the high & low cost sides of the economy is becoming more apparent every day.

It seems the high end is suffering while the lower end is thriving as an increasing number of people are forced to tighten their spending.

However, this still means job losses at the higher end & less being spent overall in the economy.

An interesting take on the thread's subject

We had a Union Jack, Jock, in our area. It wasn't very good and closed down a few years later.
I'm not blaming Brexit on this one.

More like his restaurants, just produced food that was mediocre, and the competition is offering a better option.

In any case, for the last 8 years, the food industry has been this way, with people wanting more for their money in cheaper outlets. People, have been spending their money on something else. The apparent thing, is that people are spending loads of money on drinks rather than pay more for food. They'd rather drink more and eat cheaply with big portions. Brexit hasn't changed any of that and this has been going on for years, and is the majority of British culture, unless you are the rich. However, the rich would only go to high end restaurants, which Jamie Olive style restaurants don't offer.

My only experience of a Jamie Oliver restaurant was that it was over salted, not very adventurous, a bit gimmicky, not that great a menu and over priced. The presentation was good and service OK. There was nothing about it to tempt me to go back.

I wouldn't call Jamie Oliver's restaurants as being "high end". There are plenty of places where you can spend a lot more money. His problem is that they aren't competitive compared to other restaurants in the "middle end" of the market.

They are closing 6 restaurants that account for less than 5% of the chain’s total turnover.
Likewise, they closed outlets for commercial reasons in previous years, prior to the “Brexit” vote.
They are opening an additional 2 (Barbecoa) outlets in the UK, in 2017.
The chain is performing well “home and abroad”, according to the CEO.
The overall business is “in very good shape”.

So, whilst the “Brexit” vote inevitably offers some challenges to some businesses, including “Jamie Oliver Restaurant Group”, the message behind the “Brexit headline” is of a business offering an overall positive outlook of trading in the UK and overseas.

https://www.theguardian.com/business...alian-barbecoa



It’s more a case, I think, that if you examine the facts rather than concentrate on the Brexit headline, “Jamie Oliver Restaurant Group” is not a compelling illustration of a business experiencing trading difficulties that are largely attributable to the Brexit vote.

British sourced fresh produce has increased due to demand, from November there was marked increase from the previous year. British Dairy products had gone up about 6%, also fresh vegetables etc.. Also factor in people tightening the economic belts to manage price increases. I can see if they don't get the cover, restaurants will close.
Internationally Oliver's Italian restaurant are growing from strength to strength along side his other brands.

We went to a Jamie's Italian whilst Christmas shopping because out of all the restaurants at the shopping centre it was the only one with an interesting choice for vegetarians. It was very busy, though that was probably due to office Christmas parties. It wasn't outstanding but it was in a different league from Pizza Express, which as far as I can see only survives because it aggressively discounts. Jamie's distinguished itself by serving the most perfectly-cooked egg on a pizza I've had, which admittedly isn't a major achievement, but something that Pizza Express can't get right.

None of which has anything to do with Brexit. I suspect locations like the one I went to make money because they have a lot of potential customers passing their door, and those that don't are in locations that are more vulnerable to even the smallest drop in consumer confidence.

Probably more to do with the appalling overpriced slop they serve.

Not everything is to do with brexit. It's when the real calamities start we need to be worried.