Perry Street Market has closed all three of its Cork cafe locations with immediate effect, operators Brian Drinan and Paul Coffey announced on 7 November 2024.

The pair cited a business environment they said keeps deteriorating. "The hospitality industry has faced unprecedented challenges in recent years and these difficulties continue to intensify," the company said in a statement.

"It is with deep regret that we announce the immediate closure of all three Perry Street Market Cafe locations," the statement read. "The decision was not made lightly and we are genuinely heartbroken to reach this point."

The operators thanked customers and staff. "A special thank you goes to our fantastic team who were truly the face of Perry Street," they said.

Costs and VAT drive Irish closures

The collapse of the Cork chain fits a wider pattern. Spiralling costs, the 13.5 per cent VAT rate and rising overheads have triggered a series of high-profile closures across the Irish hospitality sector in recent months.

The industry had lobbied the government repeatedly to cut VAT from 13.5 per cent back to 9 per cent, the reduced rate that applied during the pandemic support period. The recent budget left the rate unchanged.

Cork has borne a disproportionate share of the fallout. Over the past 12 months the city has lost Tung Sing, one of Ireland's longest-running Chinese restaurants, the Nash 19 cafe, and the Jackie Lennox fish and chip takeaway.

Ireland ranks near the top of EU price tables

Eurostat data underlines the cost base facing Irish operators. Ireland is the second most expensive country in the EU, behind only Denmark, with consumer prices 42 per cent above the EU average.

For restaurants and hotels specifically, Ireland ranks third most expensive in the bloc. It ranks second most expensive for alcohol — a critical input cost for licensed cafe and restaurant operators and a persistent drag on competitiveness against UK and continental rivals.

For investors and operators, the Perry Street closure signals that even established, multi-site local brands with loyal customer bases cannot absorb the current combination of input inflation, wage costs and a 4.5-point VAT premium over the pandemic-era rate. Single-region groups without scale advantages or delivery revenue are proving most exposed.

The immediate effect in Cork is three vacant food service sites and job losses for the Perry Street front-of-house team. Expect further pressure on industry bodies such as the Restaurants Association of Ireland to renew the VAT campaign ahead of the next budget cycle, with additional multi-site closures likely if input costs do not ease.

The post-mortem on Perry Street Market's finances may surface in later filings; for now, the operators have given no indication of any reopening or sale process.