When a restaurant has been open more than half a century, closing doesn’t come easily. “Emotionally I’m drained,” says Michel Roux Jr. “I’m knackered.” Last Friday, he announced that 56 years after its first service, Le Gavroche would run its final one in January. An email with the news was sent out just after 5pm. If releasing the news quietly was done with hopes of a peaceful weekend, no such luck.
“I’m still getting messages flooding through,” Roux says. “It’s incredible, all these anecdotes from guests, from people who’ve worked here. It’s been an outpouring of wonderful memories. It’s been immense, really very touching.”
