Meatcure down to one site after closing four restaurants

Burger brand Meatcure is down to just one site after closing four of its restaurants across the UK this year.

The group announced it was shutting the doors of its Hinckley site on Monday following the closure of restaurants in Leicester, Leamington Spa and Bedford.

The ‘better burger’ business is left with only its original Market Harborough site, which launched in 2014.

Writing on its Facebook page, Meatcure said it had intended to keep Hinckley open but had been unable to negotiate with the landlords after they ‘went dark’ on them.

In posts from earlier this month the group explained that it had heard customer’s complaints of ‘mediocracy’ and would be making ‘huge changes’ at the restaurant for the better, including exploring new dish ideas and the potential to introduce a grill section and smoker.

It added that its burger recipe had remained unchanged since launch but production had moved from a prep kitchen to a butcher, possibly affecting the quality.

“[The] partnership behind Meatcure is now Rob and Yaga, and they’re back on the tools and back doing what they do best,” Meatcure wrote.

“You know these guys, they’re not flash and they’re not in it to get rich quick! They’re in it because they love what they do and want you to love it too.”

It follows the collapse of Birmingham-based Handmade Burger Co in July with the closure of nine of its restaurants.

In 2016 Meatcure launched a £350,000 crowdfunding campaign to open a further five sites. Speaking to BigHospitality at the time co-founder Rob Martyniak said the group had been inspired by brands such as Meatliquor and Patty & Bun and were hoping to extend the London burger boom to the Midlands.

However, Martyniak later told MCA the group had pulled out of the crowdfunding due to uncertainty after the Brexit vote and because the numbers ‘just didn’t add up’.