It’s been a tough time for hospitality this month
Fika Cafe on Broad Quay in Bristol is now ‘To Let’ (June 10, 2026)(Image: Paul Gillis/Reach Plc)
The sun may be shining and some big sporting events may be on the screen at home and at hospitality venues across the city, but that hasn’t meant that they have become immune to the obstacles facing the industry right now.
In June, we have seen a number of popular food and drink spots shut their doors forever. Some had only been open for little under a year.
A group of restaurant cafe venues also appeared to close all its branches across the city suddenly.
Here’s who we’ve lost this month, and the reasons given for their closure…
Blind Owl Coffee
Blind Owl Coffee on Feeder Road closed in 2024 – and now the online part of the business will be closing for good too(Image: Google)
Address: 32 Feeder Road, Bristol, United Kingdom, BS2 0SE
This Bristol-based coffee roasters has announced that it is to close for good. The news comes just two years after its physical coffee shop on Feeder Road shut.
Blind Owl Coffee, an independent speciality coffee roaster, has been operating online since its coffee shop closed its doors in 2024. Back on June 1, the team said: “Unfortunately, ongoing challenges beyond our control have become too great for us to continue. To all of our amazing customers over the years, thank you so much for coming along for the ride.
“Please continue to support local businesses, and if you are looking for some excellent artisan roasters, please check out BoonaBoona and Fire&Flow.”
BristolLive reported the closure of Blind Owl’s physical coffee shop on Feeder Road in October 2024. The team put the closure down to “staff illness, bereavement and an inconsistent footfall of customers”. They announced at the time they’d be continuing to manage their e-commerce shop and wholesale.
Before that, back in July 2023, the team posted a message to say that they would be closing the shop front on Feeder Road “for the foreseeable future” beginning on August 1, which was ‘ironically’ the one year anniversary of their closure following a fire, which they described as being “small”.
The Social
The Social on Cheltenham Road is closing after more than 15 years(Image: Charlie Whitsed Robbins)
Address: 130-132 Cheltenham Road, Montpelier, Bristol, BS6 5RW
The Social on Cheltenham Road announced it was closing earlier this month, after 15 years. Charlie Whitsed Robbins, the general manager of The Social – an independent bar, cafe and brunch spot – has worked at the venue for eight-and-a-half years. He told BristolLive: “The decision to close has been something we tried to battle for a long time but the financial pressures became too much eventually.
“Fighting back after the pandemic was hard enough but it just feels like its become harder and harder for hospitality since then. The lack of acknowledgement from the government to our industry is horrific – the constant bombardment of taxation on a low profit industry is crushing hospitality and before you know it, we wont have any independent hospitality in Bristol.
“The community around us have always supported us as much as they can whilst all of us struggle through cost of living crisis, so its time to stop blaming our communities for not buying enough, when the government could lower hospitality VAT to 10 per cent and increase corporate business tax.
“The future for hospitality looks dark without change. Over and over again we’re watching Bristol’s most iconic businesses close and its heartbreaking. When I first came to Bristol, the first thing I appreciated was how much individuality the city had compared to other UK cities. If we don’t see change, one of the things that makes our city so beautiful will disappear to a sea of Wetherspoons and Costa Coffees.”
Geppettos Pizza
G Brothers Pizza (dated 2020)(Image: G Brothers Pizza)
Address: 2B High Street, Easton, Bristol, BS5 6DL
The general manager of Geppettos Pizza (formerly G Bros Pizza), Callum Jones, has been forced to close up shop due to those same rising costs and lack of help from the powers that be. Having worked here for a little over two years since the restaurant reopened as Geppettos, Callum has found the decision to close especially difficult.
He told BristolLive: “It was a difficult decision to close, but with the constant increases in things like supplier costs, National Insurance and wage bills making margins smaller and smaller, any money left over was being paid to VAT and we were being left with loss each month.
“Coupled with the fact that people just don’t seem to have the money to come out to eat as regularly anymore, we have had no choice but to close because there’s nothing left at the end of the day. The community is already supporting their favourite places as much as they can – it’s time for the government to step in and put in infrastructure to support them too.”
In a message to his loyal customers and community, Callum added: “I just want to say thank you for the amazing community we are in and thank you to the amazing local community that has supported us over the years, it’s been a privilege to serve you.”
Grounded cafes
Grounded cafe bar on Bedminster Parade appears closed on Monday, June 29, 2026(Image: BristolLive)
Grounded cafes across Bristol all appear to have closed suddenly, BristolLive reports on June 30.
The Wiltshire and Bristol-based restaurant bar group has been running since 2008, serving up locally-sourced coffee from Clifton Coffee. It has locations, including Redfield, Bedminster, Horfield, Brislington, Corsham, Keynsham, Fishponds and Chippenham.
It is believed some in the city closed their doors last Tuesday (June 23) leaving people to assume that the cafe brand was closing temporarily due to the heatwave. But they haven’t reopened since.
On social media, communities across Bristol have shared their own local closures, including Church Road in Redfield, Sandy Park Road in Brislington, the Fishponds and Gloucester Road sites, and the Bedminster Parade venue.
Fika
A hot chocolate from Fika(Image: Paul Gillis/Reach Plc)
Address: 15 Broad Quay, Bristol, BS1 4DA
This independent family-run Bristol coffee and sandwich shop has closed its doors for good less than a year after opening. Fika, which was located on Broad Quay in the former home of Chinese restaurant and cocktail bar Dao Chao, and bar venue Aluna, appeared to be locked up this week with a notice in the window stating the premises had been taken back by the landlord.
There was a ‘To Let’ sign in place and the interior appeared to have been completely stripped out when BristolLive visited back on June 12. Fika opened in late July 2025 serving up its signature ‘Fikaccias‘, as well as baps, jacket potatoes, salad bowls, and a range of hot and cold drinks.
Several notices had been put up in the window of the closed-up site from West Country Bailiffs, which stated that as of June 2 “these premises have this day been taken into possession of the landlord by peaceable re-entry”.
A second notice ‘imposing obligation to collect goods’ was also in place, however was addressed to ‘Dao Chow Limited’. The previous business housed at this address was named ‘Dao Chao’ – a Chinese restaurant that served bottomless brunches and cocktails.