Renowned chef Dylan McGrath has announced that his two popular Dublin restaurants Brasserie Sixty6 and Rustic Stone will be closing their doors for good.
'Looking at hospitality in the city, the time has come where we have decided it’s simply not sustainable,' said a statement on the Brasserie Sixty6 website credited to Dylan McGrath and his team.
'It’s hard to put into words what has happened to restaurants and the city centre in the last four years.'
Brasserie Sixty6
Brasserie Sixty6 has been in business for 25 years and was renowned for serving gourmet dishes in stylish, trendy surroundings.
Located on South Great Georges Street, the restaurant was frequently visited by celebrities and was a big part of South Dublin's social scene.
Rustic Stone
Rustic Stone was also located on South Great Georges Street and was famous for its steak on a stone, robata grill and Asian influences
The restaurant was popular at weekends due to the many lively pubs nearby.
'Very Challenging Time'
'This is a very challenging time for stand-alone restaurant models,' said the statement on the website.
'Rustic Stone and Brasserie Sixty6 have been very successful restaurants in Dublin City for a long time, but hospitality is changing and we believe our strong work ethic is better applied to new and different opportunities.'
The statement went to say that the team would be working on new opportunities and will be focusing on making Dylan McGrath's other restaurant Fade Street Social the best it can be.
'Wave Of Closures'
Earlier this month, the Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI) announced a total of 577 restaurants, cafés and other food-led businesses have closed their doors for good since the VAT rise from 9% to 13.5% last September.
In July, 45 restaurants, cafés and other food-led businesses ceased trading.
“But the reality is that these businesses are still in crisis and, without a return to the lower VAT rate, we are guaranteed to see another wave of closures as we leave the summer behind and move into the hospitality sector’s quieter months," said Adrian Cummins, CEO of the Restaurants Association of Ireland.
