‘Thank you for never supporting us’: London restaurant hits out at locals after closure

An Italian restaurant in north London has closed after six years and blamed local residents for showing “sheer indifference” to the venue.

Don Ciccio in Highgate released a statement on its website after its closure last Thursday (16 October), saying it had closed “due to a lack of customers”.

It went on to say that “it wasn’t enough” that it was a Traveller’s Choice on TripAdvisor, or that it had been “told we had one of the best pizzas in London”, or that it held “4.7 stars on Google, with 700 reviews for every one of those six years”.

The post said: “We may be the first Italian restaurant to close... Not for the bad food, bad reviews, or bad luck – but for the sheer indifference of our neighbours."

It added: “To the community of Highgate and its neighbours —thank you for never supporting us, not even once.

“To those we served during lockdown, when we were the only restaurant open, thank you for never visiting us once the pandemic ended.

“To the Highgate Society — thank you for never replying to any of our proposals for collaboration.

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“To those who lived a few doors away yet ordered delivery from somewhere else — thank you for your commitment to distance.

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“In short: thank you all for supporting us so perfectly.”

The Italian restaurant made a separate post on Instagram that was milder in tone. It said: “After years of hard work, smiles, challenges and countless joys, our restaurant Don Ciccio has now closed its doors.”

The hospitality industry continues to struggle with a tough trading environment and saw nearly 600 net closures over the past year.

Last month, the Hospitality Market Monitor from CGA by NIQ recorded 572 net closures in 12 months, equivalent to 11 every week.

There were 99,296 licensed venues trading in September 2025, meaning 15,812 premises have closed since March 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic began. 

Recent closures have included Tom Brown’s Pearly Queen in Shoreditch, and Phil Thompson’s Thompson St Albans while Doug McMaster’s zero-waste restaurant Silo in Hackney recently announced it will have its last service in December.

BrewDog closed 10 UK bars earlier this year and confirmed it would make further job cuts this month.