The head chef and founder of a Birmingham cocktail bar and fine-dining restaurant has stepped down from the post to concentrate on his other venture in the city.
Alex Claridge has decided to leave Nocturnal Animals in Bennetts Hill with immediate effect in order to focus on The Wilderness in the Jewellery Quarter.
Nocturnal Animals opened last November and runs a variety of dining out experiences set against a 1980s interior and music playlist in its ground-floor cocktail bar while the basement restaurant operates full, sit-down menu.
In March, the restaurant aspect changed its name to Kisama to reflect a new Japanese-focused menu after the company said it was proving too confusing for customers to distinguish between the two separate elements of the business.
Mr Claridge said: "Nocturnal Animals was an ambitious new project in the city centre and there is much that I am proud of - the bar in particular has done spectacularly well to achieve UK top 50 recognition in such little time.
"I want to make clear, I have nothing but gratitude to everyone involved in the project - staff and guests alike - to date and this decision is not one I have taken lightly.
"This has been a challenging project for a huge variety of reasons but, most importantly, I have spent the last nine months split between the two restaurants and this isn’t something I wish to continue.
"The business owners of Nocturnal Animals are obviously disappointed but respect my decision, for which I am grateful and, whatever they choose to do now I have left, I will do what I can to support any transition."
Mr Claridge added that he had promised his family and colleagues that The Wilderness and his own happiness would always be the priority and the time was right "to stay true to that".
