The chef said it "simply wasn’t viable" to renew the lease on the Michelin-recommended restaurant in Cumbria.
Chef Ryan Blackburn is to close his Kysty restaurant in Ambleside, Cumbria ahead of plans to open two new sites.
After six years, Blackburn has decided not to renew the Michelin-recommended restaurant’s lease and its final service will take place on 26 July.
He will retain the restaurant team and recruit new staff to help launch two new ventures around his flagship Michelin-starred restaurant the Old Stamp House this summer.
The first will be a casual small plates restaurant named the Schelly after a rare freshwater fish found in the Lake District.
It will open directly above the Old Stamp House and seat up to 24 walk-in guests, with space for an extra six bookable seats near the pass.
The second business will be a private dining space and development kitchen, called the Workshop at the Old Stamp House, located in a former tailor’s workshop in the restaurant’s courtyard.
It will have space for up to eight guests at a bespoke dining table allowing them to interact with the chefs cooking and serving the food.
Blackburn said: ‘’We’re proud of what we as a team have achieved at Kysty since we opened the doors in the summer of 2018, but the time was right to examine the direction we wanted to take.
“As a result, we’ve taken what some people might think is a bold decision to close the restaurant, but the reality is it was the right time. With the renewal of the lease and the prospect of investing heavily to transform the space further, it simply wasn’t viable.
“In the meantime, we’re recruiting additional staff and the team from Kysty will move into roles in the two new sites after final service. The whole team is massively excited about the future, and we look forward to guests joining us at both the Schelly and the Workshop at the Old Stamp House.’’
Further details of both new restaurants will be revealed in August.
All vouchers purchased by guests wishing to dine at Kysty will be honoured and will be redeemable at Blackburn’s other restaurants.