Coal Grill & Bar issue statement after Meadowhall restaurant shuts without warning – leaving 30 jobless

Coal Bar and Grill closed its doors at around 4pm on Monday.

Staff at the Sheffield eaterie claim they were left ‘completely in the dark’ up until the last minute- and only officially informed of the closure yesterday in a Whatsapp group chat.

A staff member said: “Christmas was really busy and it was like they squeezed everything they could out of us before saying ‘see you later’ once we got to January.

“If we’d have known, we could have made plans. Now we’re all hoping our final wages come through.

“Some of us are students, have left full-time jobs to work here, or have been here for 15 years.

“It’s a sad time for us all.”

Due to a ‘company restructure’ it is understood that other branches across the country, including in Telford and Swindon, have also closed down.

Andy Vine, Coal’s managing director, confirmed ‘with great regret’ that the Sheffield branch had ceased trading.

He added: “The Coal Grill and Bar restaurant group is going through a company restructure in order to protect as many jobs as possible by continuing to trade in a challenging economic climate.

“Unfortunately there are some restaurants where we have been unable to secure the trading terms which would allow us to continue operating.”