Michelin-listed Star Inn The Harbour at Whitby to close with chef blaming 'greedy' council for lack of support

The Star Inn the Harbour, which opened in June, 2017, is part of the Star Group of Restaurants, which includes the Michelin star-listed The Star at Harome, The Star Inn the City and The Winter Hütte, York.

Mr Pern, who grew up on a small farm near Whitby, said there had been a number of factors, including the impact of the pandemic on the hospitality sector in general, but the “single main reason” was issues with the council.

He said there had been a “continuous battle” with the local authority since opening, and they’d only had two months Covid business support.

The council had been “greedy and shortsighted” taking rent during lockdown, he added. The Star Inn at Harome, which was ravaged by a fire that left it closed for a year and is due to fully reopen by the end of the month.

The Winter Hütte, a pop-up two-storey Swiss-style chalet in York city centre, is due to open on November 17. The Star Group is also a lead partner in a new Refectory Restaurant at York Minster, expected in 2023.

In a statement Mr Pern, who is a director of the Star Inn the Harbour alongside Mike Green, said they were shutting with “great sadness and a heavy heart”.

He and Mr Green thanked supporters and “fantastic” staff, saying they’d all been offered employment at his other businesses.

“We have let our hearts rule our heads for many months now; and this decision is totally and absolutely a business one that has come from a number of factors.

“We could hide behind the effects of the Covid pandemic, which have affected the hospitality industry as a whole across the UK over the past few years.

“But the sad truth is that the single main reason we are closing is the almost utter lack of support we have received from Scarborough Borough Council during Covid - just two months Covid business support.

“The most damaging and miserable fact that marks their card is that they took rent from us and most other businesses in the town during lockdown when we didn’t have a penny coming in - how greedy and shortsighted is that in a place which relies heavily on tourism and hospitality?"

Mr Green said none of the positive factors that had swayed them to become involved initially had come to fruition, adding: “If anything they have damaged our chances of survival rather than encouraged them”.

In response the council said it was “unfair” to blame the closure on them, and they had been working with the restaurant to help it continue to trade in “difficult times”.

It added: “At the restaurant’s request we renegotiated the terms of its tenancy. Those terms were agreed in good faith but the restaurant recently walked away.

“Our local support for the restaurant has been in addition to the national help it was eligible for such as Covid grants and the government furlough scheme.

“As the custodian of public money, there will always be a limit to the help we can provide to individual businesses. “