Everyone knows it has been a tough time for the hospitality sector. The industry was only just emerging from the pandemic hit when it was plunged into a costs crisis.

Households have had to deal with everything they buy and the power they use spiralling in cost and it has been the same for our restaurants, who've also had to factor in wage hikes and staff shortages. Prices can be raised but only so far before people stop coming.

This has left almost every restaurant struggling to make a decent profit and some pushed over the cliff by the sheer scale of the costs crisis.

READ MORE: KFC closing restaurant on North Wales high street

READ MORE: Pizza Hut to close one of its North Wales restaurants

Morgan Austin, who runs the successful Johnny Dough's pizza chain, which has five sites, says it has been about survival recently and says the sector needs a VAT cut to prevent more closures. He has kept his restaurants and takeaways going but reduced the days they open at Rhos-on-Sea and Penmaenmawr, to trim costs.

He said: "Everybody wants their pound of flesh, and right now there is no flesh to give. It is about survival, we are taking steps to keep out places open and that means cutting hours. If you think about how costs have gone up at home, it is the same for restaurants.

"There is VAT, wages going up, card machine costs, energy and food, it all eats away at the profits. We can't add all these costs on the bill.

"There are always ups and down but at the moment I can't see the way out, we need a VAT cut for the sector because everything is crippling restaurants, which is why you are seeing closures."

The closures over the past 12 months have hit independent restaurants and the big chains.

Here are some of the closures in North Wales.

Pizza Hut:

Pizza Hut closed one of its North Wales restaurants last month. They closed the site on Central Retail Park in Wrexham.

It is understood that fast food giant McDonald's is looking to buy the site.

A Pizza Hut spokesperson said: "Responding to an ever-shifting consumer landscape, our business and operating models are evolving. We are confident in the ongoing success of one of Britain’s favourite businesses, and we apologise for any inconvenience caused."

CarniBoar

The Fat Boar group took over the former On the Hill restaurant site on Upper Clwyd Street in Ruthin in 2021. It first opened as a Fat Boar site in January 2022 but struggled to get enough staff in the post-Covid period and closed in August that year.

The site then reopened this spring under the same firm's CarniBoar Steakhouse brand. But sadly it has now closed again

Director Rich Watkin said: "It's not been due to a lack of effort on our teams' part, but sometimes in business you have to hold your hands up and say we can't make this work. We have today reached that point."

KFC

KFC closed a restaurant on a North Wales high street this week. The fast food giant confirmed the site in the centre of Bangor was shutting.

A KFC spokesperson said: “It’s been a great run, but all good things must come to an end, so this week we’re closing our doors for good at KFC Bangor High Street. We hate goodbyes so we’re looking forward to welcoming all our loyal fans just down the road at our drive thru Caernarfon Road restaurant – see you there."

The Gatehouse Steakhouse

Last autumn the highly-rated The Gatehouse Steakhouse in Dolgellau was forced to shut doors for good time due to the crippling cost of energy bills. The owner John Dolan made the devastating announcement on the business's Facebook page.

Mr Dolan said that he and his partner, Vita, had initially planned to be at the establishment for another four years. But having been quoted more than £7,000 a month for gas and electric, he decided it was "just not realistic" to stay open.

The Station Grill

At the start of the year a Welsh border restaurant announced that it was closing. The Station Grill in Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain, close to Oswestry, said it was with "great sadness" that they had made the decision to shut.

They blamed the spiralling energy prices which have crippled businesses. The owners also said they were impacted by the after affects of the pandemic.

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