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Tony Rodd – who was a finalist in the 2015 season of MasterChef – has had to close his Blackheath restaurant Copper & Ink.
Rodd, who ran the southeast London spot with his partner Becky, took to social media to explain the fate of the restaurant, which opened in 2018. In a statement shared on X, the pair thanked customers for a ‘wonderful five years’, before explaining that the restaurant is closing due to ‘continued financial difficulties caused by Covid, increased energy costs, the cost of living crisis and price increases from all our suppliers that we have had to bear the brunt of for the last three years’.
The pair added: ‘We have agonised over making this decision and spent much of the Christmas break trying desperately to find a way to save the restaurant, but to no avail.’
The message was met by an outpouring of support, which Rodd acknowledged, saying he was ‘overwhelmed with the love and kindness’.
Copper & Ink, was a ‘modern British restaurant’ and specialised in seasonal taster and prix fixe menus. Last year it was singled out by the Good Food Guide as being one of London’s best neighbourhood restaurants, alongside Les 2 Garcons in Crouch End, Sam’s Riverside in Hammersmith, The Holland in Kensington, Giulia in Shepherds Bush, Akub in Notting Hill, Hawthorn by Kew Gardens and Church Road in Barnes.
Last month Rodd launched a £70,000 crowdfunder appeal to open a cocktail bar inside the restaurant – the project has now been disbanded.
A statement regarding @CopperInk pic.twitter.com/WujqX8tCC3
— Tony Rodd (@TonyRoddUK) January 2, 2024
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