A York restaurant is to close its doors for good at the weekend.
Giraffe, at the Vangarde Shopping Centre, will shut its doors at 5pm on Sunday (16 June).
A notice has been put on the door of the restaurant. It reads:
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Thank you to everyone who has been involved or came in to our restaurant since we first opened nearly five years ago now.
Unfrotunately our last day open will be on Sunday the 16th of June. I apologise for any inconvenience this will cause.
We are deeply saddened to be leaving this great York Vangarde with wonderful memories of all the great guests and people who have blessed us in the last few years.
Please come in and see us before we go, it would be our pleasure!
Many thanks
Team Giraffe
Parent group in trouble
But parent company the Boparan Restaurant Group – which also owns the Ed’s Diner chain – has been in trouble.
In March, Boparan went into a proposed company voluntary arrangement (CVA) – a deal to stave off collapse.
As part of that deal, the group agreed to close 20 Giraffe restaurants, including the one at Vangarde.
YorkMix understands that an attempt to renegotiate the rent at the branch failed to reach an agreement.
What next?
The closure will see two empty restaurant units on that side of the shopping park.
One unit, next door but one to Giraffe, is still declaring that the NYC Bar and Grill is coming soon – even though that company went into administration in 2017.
And competition is hotting up. The new TGI Fridays opening at York Stadium later this year, will be within yards of the Giraffe unit.
The stadium complex includes five restaurant units. Zizzi and TGI Fridays have signed deals, but there is no word yet on whether the remaining units have been let.