Andrew Pern’s Star Inn the Harbour to close due to ‘lack of council support’

Andrew Pern’s Star Inn the Harbour in Whitby is to close on 12 November with the restaurateur placing the blame for the closure “firmly at the door” of Scarborough Borough Council “for its lack of support through Covid”.

“It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that we have decided to close the Star Inn the Harbour,” said Pern, who is a director of the restaurant alongside Mike Green.

“Mike and I would like to thank everyone who has supported us and all the fantastic staff who have done a brilliant job over the years – it has been a pleasure to work alongside them all.”

All members of staff have been offered employment at the group’s other establishments.

“We could hide behind the effects of the Covid pandemic, which have affected the hospitality industry as a whole across the UK over the past few years. But the sad truth is that the single main reason we are closing is the almost utter lack of support we have received from Scarborough Borough Council during Covid – just two months' Covid business support,” said Pern.

He added: "It has been a continuous battle as all the positive factors that swayed us to be involved initially have never come to fruition – if anything they have damaged our chances of survival rather than encouraged them, and, coming into winter and with the council's decision to not help us in any way, we will bring this Whitby chapter to a close for the time being.”

The Star Inn the Harbour, which opened in June 2017, is part of the Star Group of Restaurants, which includes the Michelin-starred Star at Harome, the Star Inn the City and the Winter Hütte in York.

The Star Inn at Harome, which was ravaged by a fire that left it closed for a year, is due to fully reopen by the end of November. The Winter Hütte, a pop-up two-storey Swiss-style chalet in York city centre, is due to open on 17 November.

The Star Group is also a lead partner in a new refectory restaurant at York Minster, expected to open in 2023.

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