The last eight months has seen a string of restaurant closures in Brighton and Hove.

The city is known for its superb array of different styles of food on offer, with something for everyone on any budget.

If you ate out at a different restaurant every night for a year, you still wouldn't have managed to visit every venue.

But it seems we may finally have reached saturation point.

From big chains to small independent businesses, restaurants are closing left, right and centre and the future is not looking good.

Vegetarian venue Trog's started the trend when it shut last autumn after years of popularity.

Upmarket seafood eaterie Samphire shocked everyone when it closed soon after its high-profile launch.

The team behind it had years of experience behind them and Samphire received glowing reviews for the quality of its cooking, atmosphere and location but it folded after just five months in January.

In April, Loch Fyne, a well-known restaurant that is part of a national chain, put its Western Road premises up for sale.

Booming business was predicted when the restaurant opened in September 2001 but its speciality wild fish from unpolluted Scottish waters consistently failed to lure customers.

Eateries in the North Laine are also feeling the bite, with organic cafe Kai, in Gardner Street, and Crumbs, in Bond Street, packing up and leaving last month. Next up was Time, one of Sussex's largest restaurant empires, which collapsed with crippling debt at the end of last month.

Company records to the end of 2003 showed strong annual profits and turnover of about £1.5 million.

But the chain had also accrued about £1.2 million debt and was forced to close its five Brighton and Hove locations and call in administrators.

Brighton and Hove has more than 400 cafes and restaurants - more per head of the population than anywhere in the UK outside of London.

The industry contributes millions of pounds to the local economy and provides hundreds of jobs but so much competition makes for a tough trading climate.

According to business leaders, things are not going to get better any time soon.

Tony Mernagh, chairman of the Brighton City Centre Business Forum, said harsh economic conditions would mean a bleak year for the entire retail sector, with restaurants, in particular, predicted to fare the worst.

He said: "Consumers are not spending like they have been because interest rates are starting to bite.

"A lot of people with fixed rate mortgages are suddenly finding their payments going up by hundreds of pounds a month.

"Plus most consumers are heavily in debt because of credit cards - Britain has £1 trillion of credit card debt, more than anywhere in Europe.

"Also the house market has stalled, which has a psychological effect of making people not feel as rich.

"Finally, people are uncertain about the future of the economy because of the election and its implications for taxes.

"The first thing you stop doing when you are worried about money is going out to eat."

Peter Stocker, secretary of the North Laine Traders' Association, said the city's steep Parking charges were another factor.

A survey done on behalf of Brighton and Hove City Council found ease of parking and parking charges to be visitors' least favourite thing about the city.

Mr Stocker said: "If you want to come to a restaurant in Brighton easily you have to live on a bus route or live nearby.

"Parking in the city is either impossible or expensive, particularly if you want to stay the whole day."

Mr Stocker, whose own business has also directly suffered from the increase in city centre parking charges, said all traders, including restaurateurs, needed a park-and-ride.

He said: "A park-and-ride is a flat charge for the whole day.

"That makes people much more likely to come for the day, wander round and stay for an evening meal."

Mr Mernagh said only the very best restaurants would survive the difficult times to come.

He said: "Unless you have a really slick outfit with low overheads and a good reputation, things are going to be very tough and it will continue like that for the rest of this year."

One such outfit is the one jointly run by Sue Addis, who has been running restaurants in the city for 28 years and has helped build an empire worth more than £6 million.

Mrs Addis said the secret of success was simple - good quality, good value, unfussy food and a lot of hard work.

She said: "Food fashions go in and out, just the same as clothes do. Places will come in and provide the food of the moment but then it doesn't seem to stay the course.

"We just do very basic, good Italian food.

"People know they can come here and eat at a good price and we get all sorts of different customers.

"We haven't suffered any drop in trade lately but we can never be complacent just because we are doing well."

The Addis family are indefatigable charity fund-raisers and are also sponsoring Brighton and Hove Albion this year.

Mrs Addis said: "We put a lot back into the community because the community appreciates it."

Roger Marlowe, who runs the Brighton and Hove Hoteliers' Association, agreed, saying it was crucial for restaurants to integrate themselves into the business and wider community.

He said: "If you don't get involved then you can't be surprised when you do badly.

"You have to put yourself about and get your name known."

Mr Marlowe said the hotel and restaurant trade had suffered from the demise of the Brighton Centre, which had lost its popularity as a conference destination.

He said: "We in hotels are certainly struggling for business and that impacts on restaurants.

"But the restaurants that are failing are the ones that are failing their customers."

May 17, 2005