'We’ll miss it all. Hopefully we’ll find an equally brilliant permanent home for JOY one day'
Stevie Parle has announced JOY at Portobello will close at the end of June after ‘not being given the opportunity to sign a long lease’.
Stevie opened his first restaurant, Dock Kitchen, at Portobello Dock in 2009 – it closed in 2017. He returned to open JOY in summer last year adding to his Instagram post that ‘it was brilliant to be back.’
He explained: “Sadly, despite our best endeavours and contrary to our expectations we were not given an opportunity to sign a long lease and we have lost the site to a west london based street food/pub/club operator. I don’t know what they’re planning for it but I do wish them luck.
“Portobello Dock is special to me. I opened my first restaurant here with Tom Dixon when I was 24 and it’s been empty since we left 4 years ago. It was brilliant to be back.
“We brought great food, beautiful flowers, happiness, good times, and, importantly, well paid jobs to Portobello Dock at a moment when those were all in short supply.
“We have created a vibrant and successful business that has become a sort-of home to many wonderful collaborators and friends without whom none of it would have been as good. It’s been a ride, the team have been brilliant and we’ve probably never worked harder. We built this place ourselves.
“We have been supported by an incredible bunch of guests, shoppers, friends and neighbours and feel hugely privileged to have been the place where so many people reconnected with friends and family they hadn’t seen for months.”
He added: “We’ll miss it all. Hopefully we’ll find an equally brilliant permanent home for joy one day.”
The chef also owns London pasta brand Pastaio, which has restaurants in Soho and at Westfield shopping centre in Shepherd's Bush.
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