A worker facing redundancy from Klosterhaus has spoken out at the company’s sudden decision to close the restaurant. The former employee has detailed allegations of staff walking out mid-shift over the Christmas period due to pressures and how the workforce was told they no longer had a job on Tuesday (January 3) as the parent company had decided not to reopen the restaurant due to lack of profitability.
The German-inspired restaurant housed in a historic, Grade I-listed building, shared a message on its website stating that the restaurant was now permanently closed. Hospitality group and owners D&D London has since explained that the cost of living crisis led them to the decision - their full statement is shared below, and also states that they will be seeking to offer staff alternative positions within the wider group.
One person who said they worked there, who did not want to be named, told BristolLive that the team of around 30 staff members were informed they had been made redundant by D&D London via telephone on Tuesday. The news came as a surprise to the team, many of whom had been put on the rota to work this week, they said.
Read more: Swanky city centre restaurant and bar closes suddenly
The team had undergone a big change recently, the worker said, claiming they lost the head chef, senior and general manager just before Christmas. “We were left like a basketball team with no coaches in one of the busiest times in one of the busiest restaurants in Bristol. We scrambled people together to get as many as we could,” they claimed.
While the sudden closure was a shock, the former employee claimed that the restaurant had been heading downhill in the latter half of last year. “Staff were walking out during shifts because it was so stressful and we lost a third of our workforce over Christmas because it was so stressful.
“People would walk out and we wouldn’t even bat an eyelid - we said, ‘of course, they would, are you going to walk out?' It was very disorganised. This is definitely not the way a restaurant in the middle of Cabot Circus is supposed to be run.”
“We got a rota just before New Year’s Eve to say we were going to reopen on Thursday (January 5), the last shift is the 31st and we’ll be closed the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th, reopening from Thursday. On the Tuesday afternoon I got a phone call to say they’d decided to close the three least profitable businesses of the company, which included Klosterhaus in Bristol.”
The worker claims they were told that there was “no need to come back to work on Thursday” because they were not reopening. They said each worker had been rung individually by the South West division manager of D&D London and were given an hour to collect all of their belongings and equipment today (Thursday, January 5).
In a statement, owners D&D London said: “Klosterhaus is a landmark building which opened shortly after the first COVID-19 lockdown in September 2020. Unfortunately, trading has been challenging and with the current economic challenges including spiralling utility, food and beverage costs and the unstable labour market we have sadly, after much consideration, decided to cease trading in this restaurant.
“We are currently consulting with all our valued, Klosterhaus employees. As part of the consultation process, we will be seeking to offer alternative positions within the wider D&D London group, otherwise we will support where we can, in helping find alternative employment in the local area.
“D&D restaurants, however, continue to trade well and have had a very positive December despite the ongoing industrial disputes effecting transport. We are particularly proud of our latest opening Orelle, in Birmingham; an 88-cover restaurant located on the 24th floor of 103 Colmore Row. The new site which opened only two months ago is trading very well, exceeding our revenue projections.”
Staff in Bristol have been told that the redundancy process with begin next week, but the worker told BristolLive that they have been given very little information about what the package will look like. They also claimed that their contract states they must be given a month’s notice if made redundant by the company. “All we know is that we haven’t got a job,” they said.
After an incredibly difficult few years for workers in the hospitality industry with Covid, the Klosterhaus team now has to find a new job in the cost of living crisis. The anonymous worker said: “For hospitality workers, Christmas is a really hard time.
"We all work really hard thinking that in the new year we can relax a little bit and that we have job security. January and February are very quiet for the industry.”
With Bristol’s food scene being such a close-knit community, the former worker said they hoped most of the team would be able to find another job easily. However, the sudden closure of Klosterhaus further highlights how uncertain the industry is, with many businesses struggling to survive with rising costs. Just before Christmas, popular city centre restaurant Hoba Kebab joined the long list of restaurants that closed its doors in 2022.
Klosterhaus first opened in October 2020 in the 18th-century building in Quakers' Friar. The restaurant and bar served a German and European-influenced menu. The D&D group has around 40 hospitality cities in the UK and Paris.
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