Guilbaud-backed brasserie to reopen

A DUBLIN brasserie backed by Ireland’s only Michelin two-starred restaurateur Patrick Guilbaud has closed. But management have promised to reopen shortly following rent negotiations.

Venu Brasserie and Cocktail Bar, set up by Mr Guilbaud’s son Charles in 2006, closed its doors on Wednesday. Customers phoning the restaurant yesterday heard a brief recorded message, “You have reached Venu Brasserie and Bar. The restaurant is now closed.”

After negotiations with Venu’s landlord concluded last night, managing director Charles Guilbaud issued a statement saying that Venu “will be open for business before the end of January”.

He said the brasserie had been trading successfully since 2006, showing there was a market for its food.

Guilstep Ltd, the company behind Venu, had called a creditors’ meeting for January 24th.

A spokeswoman said this meeting would now be cancelled.

The annual rent and charges on the basement premises in Anne’s Lane near Grafton Street are believed to have been about €250,000. A significant reduction is thought to have been negotiated.

Dublin has seen a number of high-profile restaurants close over recent weeks.

Restaurant trade in December, typically the busiest month of the year, was hit by severe snow and water restrictions in the city. The owners of the Dame Street restaurants Gruel and Mermaid which closed just before Christmas, cited high rents and upward-only rent agreements as factors in their collapse.

A spokeswoman said Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud, the two-starred venue in the Merrion Hotel, was an entirely separate entity to Venu and was trading profitably through the recession.

Guilbaud’s celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, she added.