JUST weeks after relaunching the former Il Palazzo restaurant as Paradise Bar and Grill, businessman Kamal Alley confirmed this week the outlet has closed for good.
Five years ago Mr Alley spent about £500,000 transforming the former Beaconsfield pub, in Galgate, Barnard Castle into Il Palazzo.
Then earlier this year he decided to relaunch and rebrand the restaurant last month, calling it Paradise Bar and Grill.
However despite only being open for three weeks Mr Alley closed the venue on Sunday, March 31, and now intends to convert the historic building into a boutique hotel.
He announced the news of the closure on his social media page saying: “Due to unforeseen circumstances our last day of trading will be Mothering Sunday. Service will not be affected for bookings already made.”
Mr Alley said he felt like “had lost control” of the restaurant as most of his time is now spent at his other outlet in the town, Capri Pizzeria, which he said has proved more popular than he could have imagined.
He said: “I couldn’t keep control of both places.
“I didn’t expect Capri to be as busy as it and this is my bread and butter.”
He added all the staff at the restaurant had transferred to his pizzeria, aside from the head chef who resigned at the weekend.
Mr Alley now plans to convert the historic building into a boutique hotel, which is hopeful to have up and running within six months.
He said: “Obviously I’ll have to go for change of use planning, but I think it is well located and has its own car park and terrace.
“Barnard Castle is a beautiful town and it needs another hotel as there are lots of visitors.
“I think it will have a minimum of six bedrooms but I don’t know the details yet. It has the potential to be a great boutique place.”
Mr Alley said he was grateful to all his customers, past and present for their support at both Il Palazzo and Paradise Bar and Grill.
