News / Restaurants
Woky Ko announce sudden closure of three restaurants
Woky Ko owner Larkin Cen has said it is “with great sadness and a heavy heart” that he is closing three restaurants.
Cen has asked other hospitality businesses across Bristol to get in touch if they have vacancies so he can share it with the staff that he is having to make redundant.
Woky Ko on Queen’s Road in Clifton and their two restaurants in Wapping Wharf will close, but Woky Ko’s stall in St Nick’s will remain open.
is needed now More than ever
Cen has blamed a combination of factors for the difficult decision including the current closure of Gaol Ferry Bridge which has substantially reduced footfall to Wapping Wharf.
The chef, who made his name on Masterchef and also appeared on Great British Menu, had only recently reopened the Queen’s Road restaurant for the first time since the pandemic.
Larkin Cen swiftly built up the Woky Ko brand – photo: Woky Ko
In a statement, Cen said: “It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that we will be closing our Woky Ko Queens Road and Cargo. St Nick’s will remain open as usual.
“With fantastic commitment and hard work from the Woky Ko team, we managed to stay open throughout the main outbreak of covid, creating a delivery service for our loyal customers.
“Unfortunately, over the last year, increasing costs, staffing shortages and wage pressure impacted the viability of these two parts of the businesses.
“Further covid related closures totalled over 200 days across all our sites and now on top of that we are experiencing a very substantial drop in sales at Wapping Wharf due to the main footbridge being closed for prolonged works.
“The price pressure on our takeaway orders caused by the economic squeeze, has meant that both locations are no longer viable.
“This sadly means that after they are paid this month we will have to make our amazing staff redundant and would ask if any other restaurants have vacancies to please get in touch and we can share this with the team.
“We will also be contacting our pre bookings in due course to apologise for the inconvenience.
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our customers for supporting Woky Ko over the years at Cargo and Queens Road and to our suppliers and supporters who kept us going throughout the pandemic.
“Our St Nicks Market operation will remain open and will be our cornerstone as we look to regroup and stabilise the business. We would love to see anyone after a Woky Ko fix there over the coming weeks and months.”
Main photo: Martin Booth
Read next:
- Fears bridge closure will ‘devastate’ Wapping Wharf
- Family-run Italian restaurant announces sudden closure
- Larkin Cen: ‘I felt empty without cooking’
- My Bristol Favourites: Larkin Cen
Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast:
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
