One of County Armagh’s most well-known and popular restaurants is to cease trading after more than 25 years in business.
JD Tipler’s restaurant in Portadown started out in December 1997.
And, while the bar at the venue will remain open three days a week, the owners informed customers tonight (Sunday), of the “difficult decision” which they had made.
They did so via social media, revealing the restaurant would no longer operate from later this month.
Vivienne, Jordyn and Dane, who are well-known and respected in the local hospitality industry, wrote: “As of 26th March 2023 at 8pm we will cease to trade as a restaurant.
“In some ways this decision from a family point of view has been easy to make but equally difficult when we think about how we will be letting our community of loyal customers down.
“Over 25 years our restaurant has been a meeting place for friends, families, new relationships, business meetings and more. We have built friendships with our customers, as have our staff and we have made more memories than we could ever have imagined.
“As easy as this would be to blame the economic climate on this decision, we would rather be open and honest that this is purely a personal family decision. We have put our hearts, souls, long hours, and tired feet into building our business into the success it is today.
“We have gained so much more than we ever could have hoped for year on year. Vivienne has been in the business for 25 years, Jordyn 17 years and Dane 15 years. With Vivienne in semi-retirement, Dane and I are seeking to explore opportunities and avenues of our own careers that have been presented to us but haven’t been able to fulfil with the demands of a busy restaurant.
“A lot of people probably think we could fulfil those opportunities whilst continuing with the restaurant but when you care so much about a business you can’t do half a job, you need to give it your all to make it work.
“We will however keep the bar open Thursday – Saturday (timings to be confirmed) so you will still see us around and you will continue to see us in the Off Licence.
“We would like to thank our staff from over the years for their hard work and effort.
“Thank you for respecting our decision and THANK YOU for EVERYTHING over the last 25 years, no doubt we will see many familiar faces over the coming weeks.
“Lastly before we sign off, we need to thank our late father Nevin Busby. Nevin completed the renovation works and provided us with the opportunity to bring the business to where it is today. Unfortunately, Nevin hasn’t been around for the majority of it, but we often think about his creative and unique thoughts that brought the building to life.
“For us the building has great sentimental value as we are given the opportunity to work within his craftsmanship every day.”
