Pop superstar Ed Sheeran has admitted that his London restaurant Bertie Blossoms is struggling to survive due to the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sheeran, who has amassed a reported fortune of £220 million with a string of pop hits, was recently a guest on Jessie Ware’s popular Table Manners podcast, where he revealed the difficulties of opening a restaurant so soon before the pandemic hit.
‘It’s had a rocky start as it opened two months before the pandemic...if you’re looking to make a small fortune in the food industry you should start with a large fortune’, Sheeran explained. ‘It’s one of these things where, unless you’re Jamie Oliver or Gordon Ramsay and you have loads of restaurants, it’s very difficult.’
Sheeran opened Bertie Blossoms in London’s Notting Hill at the start of 2020, describing itself as a neighbourhood restaurant. Set across two floors, the intimate space features a well-stocked bar and serves a short, simple menu of snacks, small and large plates and desserts.
Sheeran teamed up with his manager Stuart Camp to open the restaurant and the pair named it after their respective wives. Describing the feel of the place on the Table Manners podcast, Sheeran said: ‘It’s really good beers and good things on the menu — what I would want in the bar, basically.’
The Bad Habits singer also explained his decision to move out of London and purchase a mansion in Suffolk. ‘I love London but when I lived there full-time I felt trapped and didn’t go out a lot. I was thinking people cared more than they did.’
‘Now I am living in Suffolk, I’ll dip into London for a night and enjoy the experiences. I’m a Suffolk boy and this is where I feel most comfortable. I can go into a pub and see people and go, ‘OK’ but in London it’s more full-on.’
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