SO crowdfunding isn’t always the crock of gold at the end of the rainbow. Four months after launching a Justgiving page to create Klok restaurant in the heart of Stockport peripatetic chef Ernst van Zyl has pulled the plug after raising just £789 of his £30,000 target (itself reduced from an original £100,000 aim).
Klok was to have been a 46-cover fine dining restaurant in the glorious Winter’s Jeweller’s building on Underbank – a local landmark thanks to its ornate clock and figurines depicting Old Father Time, a soldier and a sailor. Dating back to the 1800s, it was most recently home to the Jospeh Holt pub, Winter’s Wine Bar.
This is the second blow in a month for Stockport’s burgeoning foodie scene after current Manchester Food and Drink Awards Chef of the Year Matthew Nutter closed his Allotment Vegan Restaurant on Vernon Street to move into central Manchester.
The distress of South African-born Ernst and his partner Liz Kellett is palpable in their valedictory Tweet: “Myself & @lizkellettuk are gutted and very sad to say we’ve made the difficult and agonising decision to not open restaurant KloK in Stockport anymore. Those who donated to our fundraising page; no funds will be taken as page will be closed. Thank you to those that supported us.”
He also commented: “The hospitality industry is a very high risk industry and securing funding is becoming nearly impossible sadly.”
Innovative Ernst, once of the Hilton group, previously ran The Lord Clyde in Kerridge, just outside Macclesfield, where he achieved three AA rosettes, and the Hanging Gate Inn high in the Cheshire Hills.