The Bok Shop says it will permanently close its Southampton and Eastbourne restaurants, citing "insane price increases" for energy costs, highlighting the plight of many small UK firms.
The free range fried chicken and vegan fried chickn shop was founded by two friends, Jamie O’Mara and Howard Kaye, in Brighton in 2017. Its goal was to cook ethical, tasty, homemade fried chicken, with its menu offering a range of wings, burgers and wraps.
Now the chain has announced it has made the "incredibly hard decision" to permanently close its Southampton and Eastbourne restaurants.
"It has become increasingly difficult to keep these large units running after such insane price increases such as energy," The Bok Shop said in a statement.
Its Brighton and Hastings outlets will remain open.
Many UK restaurants and pubs are facing a difficult winter as they grapple with soaring energy bills. The chair of the Federation of Small Businesses, Martin McTague, describes the energy crisis facing small businesses in the UK as "disastrous" and "as bad as it gets".
