AN award-winning restaurant that featured in the Michelin guide has shut after less than three year's trading.
Rascills was opened by husband and wife team Richard and Lindsey Johns in autumn 2016 in the former Purple Partridge cafe in Raskelf, near Easingwold, North Yorkshire.
The couple had almost a decade of experience having previously run the Artisan in Hessle, East Yorkshire, which received rave reviews from top critic Jay Rayner.
However, Rascills' location off the tourist trail and the rising costs associated with running the restaurant led to its closure in January after the business was scaled back last summer.
Rascills was an independent business that was solely operated by Mr and Mrs Johns, but despite its glowing reputation and the best efforts of the couple, it was simply not viable.
Mr Johns said two-and-a-half year's of 'extremely hard work and perseverance' was unable to save the business.
He explained: "Having taken a huge leap of faith to open in Raskelf, we hoped our past reputation and achievements would help in establishing a quality restaurant.
"Rascills became listed in the Michelin, Good Food and Hardens major food guides, which is an achievement and testament within itself.
"The restaurant received fantastic TripAdvisor and media reviews, along with being named Herriot restaurant of the year 2018."
He added: "Ultimately we constantly battled with our location being in Raskelf, which led to our decision to finally close the business last summer, after fulfilling our lease obligations.
"We understood very early on that the location was always going to be the Achilles heel, despite receiving fantastic support from many long-term customers who travelled to us from East Yorkshire and further afield.
"Despite all the reviews etc the business just couldn't gain enough traction necessary to make it a viable, long-term venture.
"We have been in business for over fifteen years and have gathered enough experience and understanding to know when a site isn't going to work out, no matter what is thrown at it.
"We both worked tirelessly on the business, as well as in it. We gave it everything."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel