Italian restaurant in Chichester to close for good this weekend

The Italian restaurant, one of several across the UK, was well-known for its authentic pasta dishes, freshly made focaccia and well-stocked deli, which sourced a variety of genuine Italian goods.

With a 15-year history in the city, the restaurant, on Eastgate Square, looks set to close its doors on Sunday, January 12. “I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported us,” a notice on the restaurant’s entrance reads. “We have enjoyed serving you all and appreciated your continuous custom from the start, after the Covid pandemic and now.”

The Chichester restaurant is one of 30 sites which survived closure when the chain was purchased by the Boparan Restaurant Group in 2020 and closes this weekend despite plans by the group, announced in 2021, to launch 500 new restaurants over five years under the name Caffe Carluccio’s.

Founded in London in 1999, the chain takes its name from Italian chef Antonio Carluccio, who died in 2017, and maintains branches in Portsmouth, Reading and Southampton.

A spokesperson for Boparan Restaurant Group, which also owns Slim Chickens, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, and Ed’s Easy Diner, said the decision has been made to sell the premises, but staff have all been offered roles at other Carluccio’s restaurants or within the wider restaurant group.

"Supporting our staff during this transition has been a key priority,” they said. “We would also like to reassure our customers that no other Carluccio’s locations, including those in Southampton and Portsmouth, are affected by this decision.

“We thank our Chichester guests for their loyalty and support over the years and look forward to welcoming them to our other restaurants.”