Shock and 'grief' as award-winning north Shropshire restaurant closes after nearly seven years

Mr Derrington said he had made the difficult decision with "great sadness" and was still coming to terms with it.

He says the business has been made unviable by rising costs, the cost of living crisis, and sky high energy bills.

Mr Derrington, on Facebook, said: "It's with great sadness that unfortunately I'm announcing the closure of the Town House restaurant and The Living Room cocktail bar.

"It wasn't an easy decision to make and one I am still coming to terms with myself."

He wrote of the challenges he faced following covid and the cost of living crisis means that the business was no longer viable.

"Even thought it's busy with great feedback its costs had "risen to a point that we're unable to carry on."

He has seen all his suppliers put their prices up over the last three or four years and his costs of energy have risen to "eye-watering" levels, he said.

He wrote of having an "amazing nearly seven years" and added: "I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the lovely welcome you've given me since I moved to Market Drayton. I've met some really wonderful people and we've been lucky enough to have won numerous awards along the way."

He wrote of the personal impact that the decision has had on him.

"Whilst I'm in this period of grief at the loss of the place I've spent most of my time I please ask you to be kind and respect my privacy whilst we go through the process of winding everything up."

But he hinted of future plans to come by adding "this isn't the end but merely another chapter so keep following us on our social channels to see what's next. Once again, thank you. Dan and family."

In 2022 the business scooped a ‘restaurant of the year’ award after opening its cocktail bar. It had made the final six for the West Midlands in The Food Awards, England.

The upstairs cocktail bar – The Living Room – was fitted with two repurposed pianos and flooring made from 47,000 saved bottle caps.

The Town House had celebrated its regional win for ‘restaurant of the year’, alongside an award for ‘fine dining restaurant of the year’ for Central England (Shropshire) from Prestige awards.

The business had also been hit by the strange phenomenon of people booking tables and not showing up.