Award-winning restaurant in PRISON announces sudden closure 10 years after opening as charity gives heartbreaking update

AN AWARD winning restaurant, that helps to rehabilitate prisoners is set to close after 10 years, in a blow to both the prison and hospitality sectors.
The Clink Restaurant at HMP Styal in Cheshire is set to close its doors in July after helping prisoners to learn new skills for a decade.
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The Clink helps prisoners to learn new skills
Credit: Facebook @The Clink Restaurant at HMP Styal
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The restaurants in Brixton and Surrey remain open
Credit: Facebook @The Clink Restaurant at HMP Styal
The restaurant is one of three establishments in the UK giving inmates the chance to up-skill, whilst still behind bars.
However, a statement released today announced that the prison restaurant will cease trading on July 31.
The statement explained that the concept of providing female prisoners with training and employment opportunities is "no longer viable" thanks to a "number of factors including costs and participant numbers".
Donna-Marie Edmonds, Chief Executive of The Clink Charity, said: 'The decision not to renew our contract at HMP Styal has been made with an incredibly heavy heart.
"The Clink Charity's mission is to reduce re-offending and we have been doing this at Styal, producing outstanding results for over a decade.
'Although the restaurant will officially close this summer, our partnership at Styal will be remembered not only for its landmark training outcomes, but as a beacon of hope where women have sought refuge and rehabilitation.
"As one of those students puts it: 'If it wasn't for my journey at The Clink, I wouldn't be where I am now.'"
The idea for The Clink was created by Alberto Crisci MBE, then catering manager at HMP High Down in Surrey.
He saw potential in prisoners working in the prison canteen and introduced accredited City & Guilds NVQ training.
The restaurant aims to combine rehabilitation and learning new skills, to give prisoners a better chance of finding a job when they are released.
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Many The Clink staff members have stayed working in the hospitality industry after being released from prison.
The restaurant has won many awards over the years, and was named Cheshire Restaurant of the Year at the Cheshire Life magazine Food & Drink Awards in 2024.
However, unfortunately problems facing both the prison and hospitality sectors in recent years have left bosses with no choice but to close.
The Clink Restaurant's in HMP Brixton and HMP High Down are currently still open, whilst the restaurant at HMP Cardiff closed in 2022.
Why are retailers closing stores?
RETAILERS have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis.
High energy costs and a move to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
However, additional costs have added further pain to an already struggling sector.
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs from April will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: "The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025."
It comes after almost 170,000 retail workers lost their jobs in 2024.
End-of-year figures compiled by the Centre for Retail Research showed the number of job losses spiked amid the collapse of major chains such as Homebase and Ted Baker.
It said its latest analysis showed that a total of 169,395 retail jobs were lost in the 2024 calendar year to date.
This was up 49,990 – an increase of 41.9% – compared with 2023.
It is the highest annual reading since more than 200,000 jobs were lost in 2020 in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced retailers to shut their stores during lockdowns.
The centre said 38 major retailers went into administration in 2024, including household names such as Lloyds Pharmacy, Homebase, The Body Shop, Carpetright and Ted Baker.
Around a third of all retail job losses in 2024, 33% or 55,914 in total, resulted from administrations.
Experts have said small high street shops could face a particularly challenging 2025 because of Budget tax and wage changes.
Professor Bamfield has warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector.
"By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer's household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020."
This follows the news that The Browns Bar and Brasserie is set to close its first ever restaurant, in Brighton after more than 50 years.
Diners will have until May 9 to enjoy one last meal before the site closes trading.
Shoreditch-based restaurant Lyle's is also closing its doors after 11 years, despite being a fixture on the World's Best Restaurant List since its opening in 2014.
Pioneered by maverick chef James Lowe, the fiercely no-frills concept offered a set menu averaging around £50 - radically cheap in the world of fine dining.
And French-inspired brasserie Côte has closed its popular branch at Gloucester Quays, marking the end of an era at the retail and leisure hub.
The restaurant, which first opened in 2017, quickly became one of the more upmarket options at the site, offering a taste of France to local diners.

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