The award-winning business has closed its three branches
Luke McGarvey, Dan Aldridge and Adam Stock outside Eat the Bird(Image: Devon Live)
A Exeter restaurant has shut its doors after the company entered liquidation, leaving some staff members unpaid.
Eat the Bird, which also had branches in Taunton and Cardiff, was served with a winding-up order, meaning it must stop operating.
The company closed on July 22, after it did not pay its meat supplier, Fairfax Meadow Europe Ltd.
The court order mandates that Eat the Bird, under the ownership of Daniel Aldridge, must pay Fairfax Meadow from its assets.
The eatery first opened its doors in Pegasus Court, Taunton in 2017.
Over time, it gained popularity, even bagging the Street Food Dish of the Year award in 2023 among other accolades.
Subsequently, two more branches were launched, first in Exeter and then in Cardiff in 2022, all of which have now been closed down, reports SomersetLive.
Founder Dan confirmed that several staff members are yet to receive their wages following the abrupt closure.
Speaking to Somerset County Gazette, he stated: “Some staff haven’t been paid yet, but they will be.”
“I am working closely with one of the directors, and we are working hard to get the situation sorted.”
Dan attributed the closure to both escalating costs and the aftermath of Covid-19. “We were weighed down by the hidden nasties post-COVID,” he told the publication.
“We have so many empty shops in Taunton, we need them filled. It takes people like me to get them sorted, it’s no good commenting on a shop’s closure via Facebook.”
It comes just seven days after a popular online food critic praised Eat The Bird in Exeter to the skies.
The Sidwell Street outlet welcomed Danny from Rate My Takeaway’s YouTube channel.
Danny sampled the Dirty Donald and My Big Fat Greek, declaring them “absolutely fantastic”.
The clip has racked up more than 95,000 views.
The Exeter branch had been preparing to move into Princesshay shopping centre last autumn, before a last-minute announcement meant plans were “delayed indefinitely”.
Eat the Bird had planned to move into a glass-fronted restaurant unit on Bedford Street, which stood empty after Margoux closed in June 2023.
The relocation was scuppered by Frasers Group’s recent takeover of the Princesshay shopping centre, Eat the Bird told DevonLive last year.
The group, which is behind major brands such as House of Fraser, Sports Direct and Game, bought the shopping centre last October.
Last month, Jon Walton was announced as the new centre manager for Princesshay shopping centre.