Dublin restaurant Luigi Malones will end 28 years of business this weekend amid financial losses accruing to roadworks outside its location in Temple Bar.
The owners of the very highly rated eaterie have expressed "deep frustration" that three months of enduring roadworks have cause their turnover to dwindle. The works were scheduled for a month
Luigi Malones revealed their admiration and support of 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.
The owners said they had already been struggling with the general decline in trade as well as inflationary pressures that had made it "impossible" to trade at a profit.
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.
The owners explained their decision in a statement:
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. 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.
We are very appreciative of the support and loyalty of our management and staff through what has been a difficult and frustrating time for them also and despite their best efforts we were all fighting an up-hill 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.
We have of course been affected also by the gradual but general decline in trade in Dublin City Centre for various reasons known to the industry at large compounded by the inflationary pressures that have made it impossible for our operation 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.
