Newbury's Japanese restaurant, Arigato, will close for good on Christmas Eve

A Newbury restaurant has announced it will close its doors for the final time on Christmas Eve.

Arigato, which means ‘thank you’ in Japanese, opened in the former Britannia Building Society building on Bridge Street in July 2017.

In a statement posted on its Facebook page this morning (Monday) the team behind the high-end eatery said “the current conditions and outlook” had left them with no choice but to close.

The restaurant enjoyed a successful start in Newbury, expanding into the second floor of the building within months of opening.

However, today’s announcement said that the team must now ‘bring this chapter to a close’.

It added that staff hoped people would come to say goodbye while they continue to open until the end of December.

The announcement in full read: “We are sad to have to announce that Arigato Restaurant will be closing from 24th December 2021.

“We have experienced a great ride in our mission to establish a quality Japanese Restaurant in the centre of Newbury and had so much support from our loyal customers. However, the current conditions and outlook has left us no option but to bring this chapter to a close.

“We are confident that the quality of our food and service has been a great success over the past few years and we will proudly maintain our high standards in December for all of our loyal customers who we hope will come and see us so we can say goodbye.

“We also would like to send the message to those customers who have purchased vouchers for their friends or family to use their vouchers prior to the 24th of December, to enjoy the experience of a excellent Japanese cuisine for the last time.”