Chef Tom Kerridge to close the Butcher’s Tap & Grill in Chelsea

Chef Tom Kerridge has made the decision to close the Butcher’s Tap & Grill in Chelsea in London, with its final service taking place on Sunday 1 June.

 

Kerridge opened the London outpost at the end of 2023, following on from the first Butcher’s Tap & Grill which opened in Marlow in Buckinghamshire in 2017, in partnership with pub group Greene King.

 

The Butcher’s Tap & Grill occupied a 3,600 sq ft, two-storey Victorian property, which previously housed the Queen’s Head pub.

 

A spokesperson for the group said: “The team has worked hard to make the concept work, but nothing is a given in the challenging climate hospitality businesses now face. Increasing costs demand a match in revenue and turnover that has not materialised at the site, providing an opportunity to regroup, rethink and rebuild. The group remains confident it can learn from the experiences in Chelsea and adapt to create something great.

 

“Tom and his colleagues are hugely appreciative of guests who have created brilliant memories since opening and an incredible team, whose future remains secure within the group in place for what’s next.”

 

The group operates two other sites in London – Kerridge’s Bar & Grill, which opened at the Corinthia hotel in Whitehall in 2018, and Kerridge’s Fish & Chips, which opened at Harrods’ dining hall in 2021.

 

The business also has three sites in Marlow, including the two-Michelin-starred Hand & Flowers, one-Michelin-starred the Coach, and the original Butchers Tap & Grill.

 

Speaking earlier this year, Kerridge shared his concerns for the difficulties the industry – and his businesses – were facing.

 

He told The Caterer for the 20th anniversary of the Hand & Flowers that the pub was “fairly robust, having been here for 20 years, but that doesn’t mean it’s not vulnerable”.

 

“It probably makes a very small operational profit at the minute – it makes enough so that when the boiler breaks we can buy a new one, and that will be that month’s cash flow done. But people aren’t earning loads of money out of it. In all honesty, I would say 60% of the staff in each business earn more money than me out of each business.

 

He continued: “As I’m not taking a huge amount of money from it, it’s allowed us to reinvest and grow and give us a bit more of a secure standing, but it’s not immune to the huge pressures the industry is under – there were a few months last year where it made losses. We have a high level of paid professional staff, but if you lose 20% of the covers in a month, then all of a sudden the margins have gone.

 

“The good thing about hospitality businesses is that they’re fairly fluid and can adapt, change menus and restructure and open different days. We’re looking at operational opportunities and because we’re owner-operated we can make those decisions and then you can change them.”

 

Read The Caterer’s interview with Tom Kerridge.