Jamie Oliver’s Istanbul restaurant goes bankrupt

The high-end Jamie’s Italian was accruing losses for years and its closure comes on heels of trouble for the restaurant chain elsewhere.

Jamie Oliver turned his skills with knife into a multimillion dollar business. AP
AP

Jamie Oliver turned his skills with knife into a multimillion dollar business. AP

The Istanbul branch of the restaurant chain owned by the famous British chef Jammie Oliver has closed its doors for customers after filing for bankruptcy, according to reports.

Jamie’s Italian began serving in 2013 but had to bite the dust after it faced difficulty in making money on its highly-priced meals. It suspended operation by September end.

The company filed for bankruptcy in December 2014 after taking on too much debt to cover the losses and its case was pending before a court since then, Daily Sabah reported.

“The restaurant remained open while the case was ongoing, but at the hearing on September 21, 2017, the court ruled for the company’s bankruptcy.”

The 42-year-old celebrity chef, who shot to fame in late 1990s with television appearances, has turned his cooking skills into a multimillion dollar business.

Besides royalty income from his TV shows and cooking books, he owns the Jamie Italian restaurant chain, which has around 40 outlets in the UK and 36 in other countries.

His Italian restaurants haven’t been doing so good financially. The company, which owns the chain, reported a loss of around $13 million in 2016 and closed a number of branches in the UK.

Jamie’s high-end restaurant business also faced trouble in Australia where he had to buyback the outlets from creditors. 

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