HotBox to close flagship London restaurant after investor pulls out

Barbecue restaurant HotBox is to close its only standalone London restaurant this Sunday after its investors pulled out of the business.

The group, which started out in street food, launched a permanent restaurant in Spitalfields in 2014.

In an Instagram post HotBox announced that the last service at the site would be Sunday brunch on 30 January after the impact of the pandemic led to investors withdrawing their support.

HotBox wrote: "Seven years on from opening our doors we look back nostalgically to the innocent of just wanting to make the best barbecue we could. The joy in customers faces when they slathered our warm barbecue sauces all over their smoked ribs. Our brunches became an institution and you def all made the most of the ‘bottomless' part.

"Sometimes you can smile even when there is pain in your heart…It is with profound sadness that we will be closing the doors of our E1 restaurant.

"The reasons for closing are all condensed within the rollercoaster that has been the last two year. And after working so hard over the past six months to reinvigorate our business, the December debacle meant that our investors pulled out."

HotBox will continue to trade from its stand at Market Halls in Fulham and the West End. The group also opened a site in Camden's Hawley Wharf in September, but it has since closed.

The team wrote: "We are so grateful for the time we had. You can still find us at Market Halls doing our best to create incredibly smokey treats but for now, from our home, it's goodbye."

Image: @hotboxldn Instagram