Rick Stein Café in Padstow closed amid money woes as Marlborough restaurant also in jeopardy

Celebrity chef Rick Stein has closed one of his businesses amid financial trouble. The café in Padstow, Cornwall closed on Wednesday (September 24) as his restaurant empire is hit by mounting losses.

Difficulties in Stein’s food empire come amid falling customer numbers amid tax increases by the Government. The staff who worked at the café have been offered positions elsewhere in the business.

The 78-year-old is well-known in the Cornish resort - dubbed 'Padstein' because he has so many businesses there, 13 in the last 50 years. The Rick Stein Group confirmed that the café's closure is permanent and three members of staff had been redeployed within the group.

A spokesperson for the Rick Stein Group told Cornwall Live: "We can confirm that we have permanently closed our small coffee shop with the three-strong team offered alternative positions with the business.

''Rick Stein’s Michelin Bib Gourmand Café remains firmly open serving the same coffee from Cornish roasters, Origin Coffee, alongside a lunch and dinner menu featuring dishes inspired by Rick’s travels and passion for fresh, simple ingredients, many of them sourced locally."

The celebrity chef opened his first dining business in the town in 1975 - but over the decades has increased his footprint with multiple restaurants, cafes, delis, cookery schools, and other business interests. Such is his grip on the North Cornwall town it has been renamed 'Padstein', with gift and bookshops full of his merchandise.

The town is home to 2,500 people but that number typically doubles in the summer as second home owners and tourists flock there. And locals say Stein's influence has been both a blessing and a curse - boosting the tourist trade but also hiking prices and stifling local businesses.

Stein has even been the target of a 'terrorist' group known as the Cornish National Liberation Army who once threatened his restaurants claiming they were hurting local people through driving up living costs. Stein's growing monopoly in the area has been described by one visitor as 'medieval' - likening flocking holidaymakers to 'brainless sheep.'

House prices have skyrocketed in the town as its popularity grew with the average property being sold over the last year costing more than £750k - higher than London.

The closure of the Café also comes as the Rick Stein Group is currently in consultation with a view to possibly close down its restaurant in Marlborough, Wiltshire.

A spokesperson for Rick Stein Marlborough said: "We can confirm that we are proposing the closure of our Marlborough restaurant and are consulting with the team to explore whether this can be avoided. Our other restaurants, and rooms, continue to trade well, but this particular site has not delivered the same level of return."