A FAMILY favourite restaurant chain has abruptly closed an “absolutely amazing” site.
Wildwood’s Hereford Old Market branch shuttered on September 6 amid plans to close 18 more sites.
Tasty, the owner of Wildwood, an Italian restaurant, and Dim T, a pan-Asian restaurant, revealed the closure was due to a major restructuring plan.
In April, Tasty announced plans to exit around 20 loss-making restaurants after a “challenging” start to the year.
Now, with over 30 Wildwood restaurants in the UK, the chain assured there are “no further planned closures”, although, “certain actions must be taken in the best interest of the company.”
A spokesperson for Wildwood explained: “Unfortunately, we were unable to reach a viable agreement with Hereford’s landlord and have made the tough decision to close.
“We are optimistic that this will be the last closure following our restructure, but there are still a couple of ongoing negotiations which we hope will be resolved in the coming weeks.
“We are committed to ensuring that all our sites continue operating, and any decision to close a restaurant is made with the utmost care and consideration.
“Our primary focus remains on optimising the performance of our remaining Wildwood and Dim T restaurants, thereby securing the long-term viability and profitability of the company.”
Hereford locals responded to the news via Facebook: “So sad loved their carbonara! Always lovely staff and service!”
Another commented: “Gutted! Always fabulous service, lovely staff and yummy food. Was only there 2 days ago.”
While a third said: “We’ve only been there once and it was really nice. Glad we managed to try it before it closed. Just a shame we didn’t try it sooner.”
“Their pizza was delicious, shame they closed”, said a fourth.
Here is the full list of Wildwood sites at risk:
It follows previous closures in Hereford, including the announcement last year by Wilko to close dozens of shops, including one in Hereford.
Wilko, like many other high street retailers, is said to have seen a big drop in footfall and has “stopped performing to its full potential”.
In March, the retail giant L’Occtaine En Provence closed its doors for good, disappointing many beauty lovers in the area.
The locals took to social media to vent their frustrations.
One said: “Seriously, can we have something decent and not just empty shops?”
While a second said: “The real problem is that people don’t have the spare cash to spend in ‘niche’ and gimmicky shops that nobody really needs.
“Hereford needs to attract investment.”
A 30-minute drive away from Hereford lies Ledbury where major DIY chain Homebase announced it will close its Herefordshire store in 2025.
Homebase currently operates around 145 locations across the UK.
The exact closure date is yet to be confirmed, with the branch’s lease coming to an end and Homebase not agreeing a new one.
This shocking news left many shoppers feeling disappointed: “Such a shame, it will be missed as where is the nearest DIY store now it’s either Hereford or Gloucester.”
A second commented: “I don’t want Homebase (to) close cos it is good.”
RETAILERS have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis.
High energy costs and a move to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
The high street has seen a whole raft of closures over the past year, and more are coming.
The number of jobs lost in British retail dropped last year, but 120,000 people still lost their employment, figures have suggested.
Figures from the Centre for Retail Research revealed that 10,494 shops closed for the last time during 2023, and 119,405 jobs were lost in the sector.
It was fewer shops than had been lost for several years, and a reduction from 151,641 jobs lost in 2022.
The centre’s director, Professor Joshua Bamfield, said the improvement is “less bad” than good.
Although there were some big-name losses from the high street, including Wilko, many large companies had already gone bust before 2022, the centre said, such as Topshop owner Arcadia, Jessops and Debenhams.
“The cost-of-living crisis, inflation and increases in interest rates have led many consumers to tighten their belts, reducing retail spend,” Prof Bamfield said.
“Retailers themselves have suffered increasing energy and occupancy costs, staff shortages and falling demand that have made rebuilding profits after extensive store closures during the pandemic exceptionally difficult.”
Alongside Wilko, which employed around 12,000 people when it collapsed, 2023’s biggest failures included Paperchase, Cath Kidston, Planet Organic, Snug and Tile Giant.
The Centre for Retail Research said most stores were closed because companies were trying to reorganise and cut costs rather than the business failing.
However, experts have warned there will likely be more failures this year as consumers keep their belts tight and borrowing costs soar for businesses.
The Body Shop and Ted Baker are the biggest names to have already collapsed into administration this year.
