Another London leisure landmark closes its doors for good
Cafe de Paris, which opened in 1924 and only shut during the Blitz when it suffered a direct hit, will close its doors thanks to lockdown restrictions.
Maxwell’s Restaurants, which owns Cafe de Paris as well as the Tropicana Beach Club, entered liquidation last week.
The Sunday Times first reported the news.
Some 400 jobs will go.
Liquidators Live Recoveries told the paper that “despite hope that December would generate a much-needed upturn in trading income, it was apparent low customer numbers, uncertainty surrounding trading, and mounting creditors and rent arrears left the company with no alternative.”
Read more: London could be in Tier 4 until vaccine is widespread
Nightclubs like Cafe de Paris have been hit especially hard by curfew restrictions.
Paris was open until 3am in pre-Covid times, but the imposition of a 10pm and then an 11pm curfew even when open has restricted their offering.
At least 34 people were killed when a German bomb struck the venue in March 1941, but the venue reopened in 1948.
It played host over the years to everybody from Frank Sinatra to Grace Kelly to Noel Coward.
Yesterday London First, the business lobby group, warned that many of the capital’s businesses could potentially go under as a result of new Tier 4 restrictions.