Food lovers have expressed their shock after one of the area's top award-winning restaurants suddenly closed its doors for good. The owners of The Factory Kitchen, named the Great Food Club's Restaurant of the Year for 2021-22, posted a sign saying: "Sorry we are closed. Thank you so much to all our lovely customers who have supported us over the last five years. We have had a lot of fun."
The rustic-style restaurant, owned by husband and wife Kevan and Jane Pierrepont, served fine dining food in the evenings, plus top quality breakfasts and lunch, at the industrial location in Mundy Street, Ilkeston.
The former 19th century malt house became The Factory Kitchen in 2017 and its reputation soon grew as a destination for creative dishes crafted by Michelin-trained chef Jacob Robinson, who honed his skills working for tough task masters Marcus Wareing and Richard Corrigan in London before returning to his home town.
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During the pandemic, when hospitality was unable to open, The Factory Kitchen devised a Dine at Home menu and prided itself on the fact that it was so affordable at £20 for a top quality three-course meal. The quality earned it rave reviews.
Since reopening diners have been able to order dishes such as Derbyshire lamb loin and belly with violet artichoke, stone bass fillet with Cornish mussels and saffron potatoes, and Gressingham duck with roast apricot and pine nuts. But with prices rising to £24 to £26 for a main course due to the increasing cost of ingredients, the number of bookings dropped off, leaving empty seats on what should have been busy Friday and Saturday nights.
Mr Pierrepont told Nottinghamshire Live: "The rising costs and the drop in customer numbers with people having less to spend was a bit too much for us. It was pretty drastic too. The gas and electric bill for the quarter was £11k and we used to pay around £12k per year.
"We stayed open for an extra month really to allow the staff to find other positions which went pretty well. It was important to us as they are mostly either family or felt like family. If we were younger we might have had the inclination to invest more and adapt or if the business had had more time to get established (we were only two-and-a half-years-old when Covid struck) things might be different but I wasn’t looking to go much past 60 which is next year.
"It’s a shame because since Jacob joined us we have never had a run of more than three months at a time without some world event messing things up. Once everything is sold and we are settled we can hopefully enjoy a quieter, hassle free time out in the countryside somewhere."
Regulars John Gains and Joe Corr, aka bloggers Guys Who Dine, were shocked by the closure. Joe said: "It is a shock after winning best restaurant. We're so sad to hear about our favourite restaurant closing. We'd visited quite often and the food was always exceptional. Their chef Jacob is very talented and we're sure he will go on to do great things."
The Great Food Club, a guide to the best places to eat in the East Midlands, honoured The Factory Kitchen in October last year, describing the food as creative, seasonal and unique. They said: "Our judges were impressed by the entire dining experience, from the interior’s memorable industrial design touches – a nod to the building’s past – to the warmth of the welcome, the quality of the cooking and the creativity of the flavour combinations.
"The small team that Factory Kitchen owners Kevan and Jane Pierrepont has put together has the feel of a happy family. That, combined with the food offering, makes The Factory Kitchen a truly special place."
Matt Wright, founder of the Great Food Club, said: "The Factory Kitchen's closure is a really sad loss - it was deservedly Great Food Club's Restaurant of the Year 2021 and the GFC team always loved eating there. Owners Kev and Jane Pierrepont had created a beautiful, unique, family-run independent restaurant.
"The service was excellent, and young head chef Jacob Robinson's cooking was memorable. The Factory Kitchen's closure proves just how challenging it is out there right now for pubs and restaurants. It also shows that, unfortunately, quality does not guarantee business sustainability."
The property, which includes an upstairs apartment, has been listed on Rightmove for £495,000. Chef Jacob is now setting up BAH BAH, a pop-up Persian street food outfit with his brother Thomas.
Last year the 60-seater restaurant launched family table events each month, with diners sitting around a long table and sharing refined Mediterranean family-style dishes. The business raised much-needed laughter during lockdown when they posted hilarious videos online of how it was tackling the coronavirus crisis.
But it wasn't without controversy though after hitting back at a customer who wrote a one-star TripAdvisor review while actually sitting at his table because he couldn't order scrambled egg with his breakfast.
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