Restaurant profits fell ahead of Thornton’s closure
The restaurant closed in October and new accounts show that profits at the firm that operated the restaurant, Conted Ltd, last year totalled €12,472.
That is 76% down on profits for the longer 16-month period in the 2013-2014 fiscal year, when the restaurant lost its coveted Michelin star.
The firm’s cashpile last year, however, doubled to €165,426, but had accumulated losses of €13,278.
In an interview earlier this year, Mr Thornton said the shock loss of the Michelin star had prompted him to make the “very sad” decision to close the restaurant.
He had been a Michelin-starred chef for two decades and he likened its to being “stabbed in the heart”.
A Cashel, Co Tipperary, native, Mr Thornton was the first Irish chef to receive the rare accolade of two Michelin stars.
Staff numbers increased from 23 to 25, with staff costs falling from €852,312 to €733,661 over 12 months.
The two directors of the firm are Mr Thornton and his wife, Muriel. The couple was paid €192,883 last year, down from €222,541 in the previous 16-month period.
The restaurant’s profile had been increased in recent years with his appearances on TV programmes.
Thornton’s was housed in the five-star Fitzwilliam Hotel on St Stephen’s Green in Dublin, but was originally established on the canal-side in Portobello.
