Jamie's Italian in Manchester has closed its doors as the celebrity chef's UK restaurant empire plunges into administration.
Jamie said he was 'deeply saddened' as he confirmed he had appointed KPMG to handle the insolvency process.
A member of staff at the King Street restaurant told the M.E.N they turned up for work as normal this morning only to be told the business had ceased trading.
The employee, who asked not to be named, said they had been visited by accountants from insolvency practitioner KPMG.
He said: "At 10 o'clock we had two accountants from KMPG show up and they handed us a notice to say that the business has ceased trading as of now.
"We didn't know - nobody was aware of it. There were about 15 of us. It's a bit of a shock to the system to everyone. Some people have been here since day one, so over 10 years."
Around 70 to 80 people are employed at the restaurant. More than 1,000 jobs are understood to be at risk nationally from the collapse of the business, which also includes Oliver's Barbecoa restaurants and Fifteen London.
His international franchises and Fifteen Cornwall, which also operates under a franchise, will not be affected.
Oliver said: “I am deeply saddened by this outcome and would like to thank all of the staff and our suppliers who have put their hearts and souls into this business for over a decade. I appreciate how difficult this is for everyone affected.
“I would also like to thank all the customers who have enjoyed and supported us over the last decade, it’s been a real pleasure serving you. We launched Jamie’s Italian in 2008 with the intention of positively disrupting mid-market dining in the UK high street, with great value and much higher quality ingredients, best in class animal welfare standards and an amazing team who shared my passion for great food and service. And we did exactly that.”
The Jamie Oliver Restaurant Group closed a third of its Jamie's Italian sites across the country last year after slumping to a £9.9m loss in the previous financial year. The casual dining crunch has also hit mid-market chains including Carluccio's, Prezzo, Gaucho and Byron.
In a frank interview with the M.E.N last year , Oliver described the struggle for 'survival' for high street restaurants as he outlined plans to bring his Jamie's Italian brand back to life.
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"The world's changed in the restaurant industry in the last year and a half," he said.
"It's like any other business on the high street, it's just really, really tough. We're in a changed time and obviously there's lots of pressures even for good businesses."
Describing the pressure to adapt, he added: "It's survival. I don't know anyone in the restaurant industry that's doing high fives at the moment, unless they're a small neighbourhood restaurant and god bless if they are having a good time."
