The Chestnut pub in Radcliffe-on-Trent has revealed with regret that it will cease preparing meals from its kitchen. The venue on Main Road will shut its food operation on Monday, May 11. Regular dishes offered at the establishment include fish and chips, daily pies, lasagne, burgers, sausages with mashed potatoes, appetisers, filled rolls and baked potatoes. Sunday roast dinners are also available, with reservations being accepted for the last one on May 10. Diners who recently visited described the cuisine as outstanding and first-rate, yet this proved insufficient to keep the operation running. Tenants Kat Bowden and Joe Beresford, who assumed control of the establishment twelve months prior, attributed the closure to escalating expenses. Like all hospitality businesses, from upscale dining establishments to modest cafés, pubs are grappling with mounting financial pressures encompassing ingredient prices, the new minimum wage requirements and rises in National Insurance contributions. Numerous venues have consequently been compelled to alter their menus, discontinue serving meals or shut their doors entirely as profitability diminishes. Some are struggling to generate any meaningful profit as financial margins continue to shrink. Kat acknowledged that produce costs had become prohibitive, explaining that without sufficient customer numbers combined with VAT obligations, the venture was losing money once staffing expenses including chefs, kitchen porters and sous chefs were accounted for. She described the situation as tremendously difficult, with insufficient revenue flowing in while expenditure continued to rise. She speculated whether the cost of living crisis meant patrons simply could not afford to dine out. Regarding the inability to increase prices to cover rising ingredient and wage costs, she noted that doing so would drive customers away as they would consider the food overpriced, creating an impossible situation. The pair shared a statement on the pub’s social media explaining that maintaining a fresh food kitchen was no longer economically sustainable, expressing gratitude to all supporters and praise for the dedicated kitchen staff who performed excellently. Local customers responded with disappointment, with one praising the chef Ryan and describing the fare as excellent. Another commented on understanding the decision while thanking Ryan and the kitchen team for their efforts and quality cooking. The Chestnut faces competition from neighbouring village establishments including the award-winning Radcliffe and the Manvers Arms. Joe, who previously worked as general manager, and Kat assumed ownership after landlord Paul Fletcher departed, explaining that mounting industry costs had extinguished his enthusiasm for the business. Despite having already committed to a further five-year lease, he withdrew following the 2024 autumn budget, which he said had eliminated any prospect of improvement as the impact of the higher minimum wage threshold and increased National Insurance contributions escalated payroll expenses alongside greater duties on non-draught beverages.