Pho to close its original Clerkenwell restaurant next year

17-Dec-2021 - Last updated on 16-Aug-2022 at 15:28 GMT

Vietnamese restaurant group Pho will close it original restaurant in Clerkenwell next year because it has outgrown the site.

The group, founded by Stephen and Juliette Wall, launched their debut restaurant on St John Street in Clerkenwell in 2005. The 28-cover restaurant cost just a £100,000 to open.

Pho has since gone on to open restaurants across the UK and currently operates an estate of 31 restaurants plus three Deliveroo Editions dark kitchens.

In an interview with BigHospitality, Stephen Wall said that the closure would be a result of it coming to the end of its lease and because the site was now too small for the brand. It will be the first restaurant that the group will have closed in its 16-year history.

“I don’t call that a closure,” said Wall. “We’ve had it 16 years, but it just doesn’t fit in any shape or form anymore. We’ve never had a failed site.”

Pho, which this year received investment from private equity firm TriSpan, will open a new restaurant in Nottingham in early 2022 and also in Cheltenham. Recent openings include in Lincoln and Edinburgh.

Wall said there were also plans to double up Pho’s presence in cities such as Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool.

To read the full interview click here.