Spuntino Bristol to close after only a year

Spuntino in Bristol's Wapping Wharf Cargo 2 development is closing only a year after opening.

The founders of Polpo, Russell Norman and Richard Beatty, are behind the Spuntino restaurant brand, which means snack in Italian, and serves small plates of Italian-influenced New York cuisine. The Bristol branch was the second Spuntino following the original site in London's Soho, which opened in 2011.

Managing director Scott Macdonald told The Bristol Post: "It is with regret that we will be closing Bristol's Spuntino on 6 May. As a small business, we have taken the decision to focus our resources on our existing London and Brighton restaurants and to grow Spuntino with TRG in airports across the UK."

The company closed three sites earlier this year: Polpos in Bristol and Exeter and the company's Ape & Bird in London's Shaftesbury Avenue.

Managing director Scott Macdonald said it would be "tempting and convenient" to blame negative market forces for the sales but insisted the company enjoyed a record-breaking final quarter of 2017 and had plans for the expansion of the Polpo and Spuntino brands in 2018.

Beatty and Norman's restaurants now include the original Spuntino in London's Soho, and Polpos in Brighton and London's Chelsea, Covent Garden, Soho, Smithfield and Notting Hill.

Polpo founders to bring Spuntino brand to airports >>

Polpo boss announces plans to sell third site despite record-breaking results >>

Russell Norman and Richard Beatty to open Spuntino in Bristol >>

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