Bistro Marc, the French bistro which opened in Stockport in April 2022, is to close, its owners have confirmed. In making the announcement on its Instagram page, owners Marc Molé and Rachel Winter Jones said they were ‘heartbroken’.
The restaurant was in the historic Winter’s building, which the couple had extensively refurbished, including its iconic clock. They have now said that the cost of running the business was a staggering five times that of when they opened.
“We have some extremely sad and to us heartbreaking news,” the post reads. “We say with the deepest sorrow that Bistro Marc at Winters will be closing down.
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“We made it our dream to open a French bistro in Stockport and Winter’s was the perfect building to house it. We were able to make this dream a reality, despite all the delays & the already rising costs due to Covid.
“We’ve had a fantastic year and then some! With celebrations all round amazing events, spectacular street parties, and every service completed, some difficult but many absolutely fantastic.
“However as hard as we have tried we just can’t continue our dream in the state of the current economic situation. Especially with the rising food prices & our energy bills being 5 times higher now than when we opened.”
They thanks their ‘wonderful customers and amazing staff’, before signing off with ‘au revoir and merci beaucoup’. The restaurant’s last service will be on June 18.
The couple spent nearly three years working on the building, with the pandemic scuppering plans to open in 2019. Due to its Grade II listing - it dates back to 1890 - a wealth of the building’s original features remain from its time as a jeweller’s shop.
Marc, a former architect who worked as a chef in Washington DC, and studied under the head chef at the French embassy, crafted a menu of French bistro classics, ranging from steak frites to duck confit to cassoulet.
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