The restaurant, which describes itself as an ‘experimental dining experience with sustainable aims’ says that it has taken the decision to close ‘after countless hours of deliberation and soul searching’.
In a statement it says: “With the pinch of the current economic outlook in the UK, we have been struggling to come to terms with the give and take for our guests in the restaurant. With soaring costs of outgoings for the business, our current model leaves us at a high price point for our guests. Unfortunately to continue to operate at the level of service and gastronomy that we desire; that price point would need to increase even further, something we do not want to engage in.
"With this, to preserve the integrity of what we hold dear, we have decided to close our doors for the current time and re-evaluate how we can give the public the product we want at a more accessible price.”
The restaurant says that it will take the time out to work on new projects and ‘develop a way to reimagine Hypha in a different time, location and execution’.
It adds that it expects to return in some form, saying: “This is not a goodbye but a “see you later.”
Hypha was awarded a green star by Michelin last year in acknowledgement of its work to create a closed loop food system. The restaurant has its own fermentation lab and serves a constantly evolving micro-seasonal tasting menu with dishes based on ingredients available each day from local suppliers, growers and foragers. Every ‘hero’ ingredient has been grown in Chester or the surrounding areas, it says.
Hypha is not alone in citing rising costs and an unwillingness to charge too much for dishes as a reason for closure. Earlier this week Birmingham-based chef restaurateur Aktar Islam announced he will close his Argentine-inspired steak restaurant Pulperia because of spiraling costs.
“With the current climate we simply cannot operate at the standard we want without outpricing our customers. Consumer habits have changed, and we feel we’ve come to the end of our journey,” he says.