It was especially sad to see the closure after almost 20 years of a popular family-run fine dining restaurant that holds particular memories for me.
Better news was that the prime site premises were snapped up by a Michelin-starred chef who plans to bring his own blend of culinary experience to the Scottish city hotspot.
Chef Rodney Wages is tonight bidding farewell to his US restaurant with a spectacular final fling for his friends and patrons there before setting sail for these shores where he is to open a new restaurant in the Scottish capital.
The Herald revealed earlier that the chef had fallen in love with Edinburgh during a holiday that was followed up by a season of pop-up offerings that then seemed to cement his relationship with the city, compelling him to quit his San Francisco venue where he earned his star.
The Stockbridge Restaurant in St Stephen Street, previously run by Jason Gallagher and Jane Walker, will become Avery Edinburgh some time over the next few weeks.
In a time of flux such as this, we are seeing old hands like Malcolm Duck, who has now seen his Aberlady Ducks Inn sold, step back from the trade and pass the baton to often new post-pandemic businesses.
In some cases, like Brian Maule at Le Chardon d’Or in Glasgow, which fell into administration, “soaring food and energy costs, the suspension of business rates relief, declining city centre footfall and consumer confidence dented by the cost of living crisis had a detrimental impact on cashflow and trading performance”.
There are new opportunities, however, and while the value of the transaction for the Stockbridge Restaurant was not disclosed, the leasehold was marketed at £50,000.
I’m looking forward to Rodney’s new offering and am expecting something quite different. Chums at Avery San Francisco’s will this evening be tucking into Hokkaido sea urchin and Golden Ossetra caviar. The chef wouldn’t let on whether this would be on the menu here in Scotland.
Rodney said: “While we'll deeply miss San Francisco, we're beyond excited for Avery's next chapter in Edinburgh. Stay tuned for details of our December soft launch.”
This was a momentous week for Scottish business news coverage, as we launched our new Business HQ Monthly supplement. There is nothing else like this in Scotland. It gives a platform to people in business ranging from new start-ups to the top entrepreneurs.
The country’s most successful businesspeople will give their insights across industry and commerce, and topics that have driven business news agendas are broached in a way that has not been done before.
We are running a breathless mix of business news, features, big reads, insight, opinion and analysis on the first Thursday of every month, so don't miss it! In our first edition, business editor Ian McConnell and political editor Tom Gordon gave their takes on the twists and turns of the UK economy, while the front page was led by business correspondent Kristy Dorsey who revealed a major development in the drive to improve funding for entrepreneurial businesses led by women.
Deputy business editor Scott Wright examines the challenges facing Scotland’s town and city centres.
Stakeholders and experts step up, including leading Scottish academic Leigh Sparks, and senior reporter Caroline Wilson looked at the developing situation in the new town that could turn out to be an important indicator for the future, East Kilbride.
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