“It’s a tough nut at the moment and there’s no easy way out”
RESTAURANTS in Limerick and throughout the country need to be “full three or four nights of the week to survive”. That’s according to TV chef and restaurateur Richard Corrigan who was in Limerick ahead of his live cooking demonstration in Thomond Park next Tuesday, September 14.
Corrigan when speaking to the Limerick Post, revealed that he felt the restaurant trade was “at the bottom” and that they “can’t cut anymore”, adding that he returns home to Ireland every two weeks and visits his “buddies in the restaurant business” and his “heart goes out them, it’s tough, it really is very, very tough for them.”
Speaking at Thomond Park last week, the popular chef spoke openly and for the first time regarding his former business ties in the country. The often outspoken chef said that he pulled out of the Dublin based Bentley’s Oyster Bar and Grill on Stephen’s Green earlier this year and focused his attention to his two London restaurants in Piccadilly and Mayfair.
Tough economic times were evident for the industry and Corrigan noted that everyone was struggling.
“It’s a tough nut at the moment and there’s no easy way out – the restaurant trade is at the bottom of their rethinking, they’ve done all of that.”
And with little let up or breaks in leases, rates or rents, the chef added: “Restaurants and hotels are always going to take a hit in a downturn – people will choose to stop eating out as they have every right to. It is up to our sector to fight back and woo them in with great deals, which most have in fairness.”
But Corrigan looks to the other side of the table too and notes that it is one of the best times for diners to eat out.
“Family-run restaurants around Ireland are flourishing where people know there is great natural food. The image of Ireland to me is walking into a pub and a barman pulling a nice pint of Guinness and going to the restaurant and having some delicious natural food from the countryside from a great chef”, added Corrigan.
