Popular Dublin restaurant Luigi Malones will shutter permanently this weekend after sustaining financial losses due to roadworks outside its Temple Bar location.
The owners said that Luigi Malones would cease trading after 28 years this Sunday (13 April) and expressed "deep frustration" at the roadworks, which have been ongoing for three months despite being scheduled for just one month, causing turnover to plummet.
"It is with a heavy heart that we must announce that our restaurant Luigi Malones in Temple Bar will cease to trade on Sunday 13th April after 28 years trading in this location," a statement on the restaurant's website read.
"There is also a sense of deep frustration as we have been effectively barricaded into our own premises for the last three months as the street is being dug up and rebuilt all around us and as a result our turnover has plummeted in that period, and this was the straw that broke the camel’s back leading to the consequential financial loss which makes it impossible to trade on without inflicting damage on all stakeholders.
"This is something we are determined to avoid."
Luigi Malones expressed appreciation for the support of the restaurant's management and staff through what it said had been "a difficult and frustrating time ... fighting an uphill battle when our restaurant was so inaccessible.
"We know streets have to be repaired but this project which we were told would take 1 month took over 3," the statement continued.
The owners said they had already been struggling with the general decline in trade in Dublin city centre and inflationary pressures that had made it "impossible" to trade at a profit.
"We will accept any gift vouchers in the interim trading period whilst we trade and of course honour them at Luigi Malones Cork restaurant. Finally, we wish to thank our many customers over the years who frequented our restaurant."
Luigi Malones made a loss of €38,500 in 2023, reducing shareholders' funds to €82,900 according to the latest available accounts for LMR Restaurant (Dublin) Ltd.
Parent company Dubcor Restaurant Holds Ltd took out a loan from Bank of Ireland in 2011 to purchase the leasehold of Luigi Malones trading premises in Temple Bar on behalf of LMR.
LMR struggled to make repayments in recent years due to cash flow considerations, and owed around €235,000 to various related parties that assisted the firm in making the loan repayments.
(Pic: Google Maps)
