Derbyshire restaurant owner makes “horrible decision” to close next month as rising costs take their toll

The School House Restaurant, located on Church Street in South Normanton, is set to close its doors - with their final day of trading taking place on Friday, April 11.

Scott, the current owner of the restaurant, took over back in February 2023. In a video posted on the restaurant’s Facebook page, he explained his decision to close the restaurant - with financial pressures forcing his hand.

He said: “I’ve got some sad news. Due to the current economic climate, we’re going to have to close The School House as a restaurant. Going forward, we will be looking just to do our private events.”

Scott cited the upcoming increase in the National Minimum Wage as one of the pressures facing the business. He said that, while he felt that all of his staff deserved to be on more than minimum wage, it was not financially viable - with Scott having worked more than one job to help support the restaurant.

He added: “Just last month, the butchers put all beef products up by 20%. We’ve tried passing it on in the menu and putting prices up, and we’d noticed quite recently that a few customers had complained about the prices - I can assure you that we aren’t making any money at the price we are, and we’d need to put them up again.

“I get it, because everyone is struggling, not just us, and people can’t go out for meals when they need to be paying £40 for a fillet steak or £35 for a short rib of beef - but that’s what we should truly be charging to make it work.

“I’ve had to come to the horrible decision that the restaurant side will not work, so I’m closing that. I’ve informed all the staff, obviously they’re very upset, but understand my decisions. We’ve done everything we can to try and keep this lovely, wonderful restaurant running - but it just can’t happen.”

The restaurant will now be closed every Wednesday and Thursday, but will remain open between Friday and Sunday until the last day of trading on April 11.

Scott encouraged customers to book a meal at the restaurant to say goodbye, and called for anyone with vouchers to make use of them.

He also confirmed that large private events, such as weddings, are currently going ahead as normal. Scott said that the restaurant was now up for sale, and if the business is sold, large private events would be refunded.

Scott added that deposits made for Christmas Day dinners would be refunded, and urged customers to remain patient while this process was completed.

With the restaurant set to close, Scott said that he had poured everything he could into the business - and expressed his sadness that it was ending in this manner.

He said: “I’ve done this all my life, I’ve only ever wanted to be a chef from the age of 10. We’ve shown the building some love and made it a nicer experience for customers. I’ve thrown everything at it, I can reassure you, and I cannot get this place to make money.

“I’ve done 45 years as a chef, 25 of those self-employed and running my own businesses. I’ve done the best I can to make this place work for all my wonderful staff, and all my regular, great customers. It’s been a wonderful time, I’m just sorry it’s had to come to an end like this.”