A Liverpool restaurant is closing after less than three years.
Owners of Lerpwl, on the Albert Dock, have announced its closure effective immediately after they claim the landlord demanded a £30,000 payment in a dispute over pandemic rent debt. Liverpool born brothers Liam and Ellis Barrie opened Lerpwl's doors in 2020 after gaining a glowing reputation in the hospitality industry.
The brothers began their restaurant adventure in 2009, serving hungry campers with Ellis in the kitchen and Liam front of house on a caravan park in North Wales. They then opened their first restaurant Marram Grass, in Anglesey which was awarded multiple accolades including being recognised by the Good Food Guide.
READ MORE: Thomas Cashman trial updates as jury told of moment mum realised Olivia Pratt-Korbel had been shot
After Ellis Barrie then appeared on BBC Two’s Great British Menu the brothers then decided to open in their home city of Liverpool, on the Albert Dock. Liam Barrie said: "The business plan for Lerpwl, developed well before any sight or sound of a pandemic, has proved no match for the voracity of Covid nor the challenges of the Post Covid trading environment."
He claimed that that lawyers for Lloyd’s Bank, the restaurant’s landlord at the Royal Albert Dock development, had demanded the £30,000 following an arbitration process.
Liam said: "It cannot continue that the Lerpwl team over-reach to meet our standards of delivery only for the revenue created to be absorbed in the legal entanglement. The losses incurred in the initial phase of launching, having been delayed and disrupted by Covid, depleted vital resources and hindered the ability to react to the different obstacles faced in the periods since.
"The menus, team setup and formation have been restructured time and time again to navigate the multiple challenges that hospitality has faced since March 2020. Ultimately the business has never fully recovered."
Work has already started with members of the Lerpwl team to find them employment opportunities following the closure of the restaurant. Liam Barrie said: "Lerpwl has been highly recognised since it opened its doors in Autumn 2020. So many have invested so much good will to keep it going across the past three years. We will forever be grateful for all involved: The Team, guests, suppliers and well wishers."
A spokesperson for CBRE Investment Management said: "We manage the commercial element of Royal Albert Dock on behalf of our client and decisions made are as a result of our asset management, not our client’s.
"We recognise that restaurateurs have endured a very difficult time as a result of the Pandemic and we have worked with all our tenants to help them navigate that incredibly challenging environment with rent-free periods, structured repayment plans and, where appropriate, helping them to access government support.
"It is in our interest to work with our tenants to help them thrive. We always aim to collaborate, negotiate and compromise, but for this to be successful, a similar approach needs to be adopted by the other side."
READ NEXT: Schoolchildren arrested after horrific cat attack video emerges
Woman 'gave Thomas Cashman new clothes' after Olivia Pratt-Korbel was shot
Eurovision Song Contest tickets being resold for £11,000
When and where snow will fall as Met Office issues four day weather warning
