A Scottish chef has made the heartbreaking decision to close his family run restaurant for good after the price of energy bills became too high.
The businessman said he hopes protections will be put in place to help others. David Haetzman, 49, was forced to shut the Firebrick Brasserie in Lauder, near Edinburgh, earlier in August.
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Energy prices have spiked again recently with many worrying about how they will continue to survive. David's livelihood has become one of many independent businesses to make the difficult decision to shut down as they can not continue to pay the extortionate prices.
Speaking to the PA news agency, David said: “We’re heartbroken and pretty distraught. Obviously we have put a lot into the business over the last seven years.
“We’re very passionate about what we do and it’s pretty heartbreaking to have to close. The cost-of-living crisis, and in particular the energy prices, is the thing that sent us over the edge.”
David said he made the difficult decision after the restaurant’s energy bills shot up from £1,000 a month to nearly £4,000.
He explained: “The last few years have been very difficult with Covid, which we managed to get through. The price in base ingredients increased and all of our prices went through the roof.
“It was impossible for us to make that sustainable. Customers were still coming through the door but they spent less, as their cost of living increased too.”
The closure of the restaurant inevitably led to redundancies, David said: “It’s really hard. We had a small team but a really good team for a long time, and it’s very difficult to let people go.”
The chefs three children, Alex, 23, Charlie, 17, and Sophie, 15, were also working in the family business and gutted to see it close for good. "It’s a sad day for all of us. What we will miss the most is serving our customers," he said.
"We are very passionate about producing good food, the hustle and bustle of working, doing our own thing and being proud of what we’re doing – that’s now going to be a huge miss" he said.
David hopes a price cap for businesses will be introduced, so energy providers “can’t just charge us what they like”.
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