At the end of this year's first quarter, Jamie Oliver will end the operations of his six Italian restaurants located in Ludgate Hill, Tunbridge Wells, Richmond, Cheltenham, Exeter and Aberdeen after the "pressures and unknowns" of the recent Brexit vote.
According to The Guardian, Simon Blagned said that every restaurant owners know that operating a restaurant is tough market. And after the Brexit vote, the pressures and unknowns have made the situation even harder. Blagden is the Chief Executive of the Jamie Oliver Restaurant Group.
On the lighter note, Blagden explained that the said closures are not reflections towards the company's dedication and commitment to their staff. He assured that his top priority as of the moment is to secure those employees who will be affected by the said closures.
According to Eat Out Magazine, the closures will likely affect 120 employees, about five percent of the total number of staff of Jamie Oliver's Restaurant Group. However, the company affirmed that it intends to find alternatives and offer the affected employees new careers to other branches of Jamie's Italian restaurants.
"Because we refuse to compromise on the quality and provenance of our ingredients and our commitment to training and developing our staff, we need restaurants that can serve an average of 3,000 covers every week to be sustainable," Blagden furthered.
In the United Kingdom, Oliver already has 42 branches of Jaime's Italian restaurants as of this time and over 36 restaurants in other countries all over the world. Blagden revealed that the expensive prices on ingredients, and adequate training of the staff are some of the factors that pushed them for the closure of the said restaurant branches.
Aside from Jaime's Italian restaurants, Oliver also owns 4 pizzeria branches, two delicatessens a Barbecoa, two branches of Fifteen restaurants, Jamie Oliver's Diner and Jamie Oliver Cookery School in the United Kingdom.
Despite the closures, Blagden declares that the Jamie Oliver Restaurant Group is still in doing a good job in terms of revenue and operations. "Jamie's Italian has become a much loved presence on the UK high street and we have our teams to thank for that," he added.
