Business

Fallon & Byrne, a restaurant, food hall and wine bar group, has confirmed the closure of its Rathmines outlet with immediate effect. On Thursday morning, the company posted a statement across its social media sites confirming the closure of the 10,000 sq ft branch, its largest store.

“Unfortunately the location was loss-making and, while the decision was a very difficult one, we believe that acting decisively is what’s best for the business overall,” read the statement.

The company added that the closure of the Rathmines store would not affect either its flagship Exchequer Street in Dublin city centre or its Dun Laoghaire locations. It said both these locations had a history of trading profitably.

According to the statement, Fallon & Byrne is to refocus on its Exchequer Street outlet.

The Rathmines outlet, which opened in The Swan Shopping Centre in 2017, had a restaurant and food hall, which included fruit and veg, butcher, grocer, pizza, pasta and bakery sections.

Fallon & Byrne was established in 2006 by property developer, Paul Byrne and his wife, Fiona McHugh, a former editor of the Irish edition of the Sunday Times. In April last year, the company announced that it was seeking to raise in the region of €6m to help finance an expansion plan that would see it double in size.

The plan included an extension of its flagship Exchequer Street store, as well as a new outlet at Dublin’s Connolly Station. The group, which has annual sales of about €15m and employs 350 staff, signed a new 25-year lease on its Exchequer Street store following negotiations with Eir.

In 2018, it also announced plans to open a new 10,000 sq ft speciality food hall in Dundrum Town Centre.

In December 2011, Fallon & Byrne entered examinership over its inability to pay a €1.4m tax bill. It emerged from the process in April 2012 and secured a new €1m investment.

Fallon & Byrne had not responded to a request for comment.