'COVID completely ruined us': Wollongong's top restaurant to close for good

Co-owner Tom Chiumento said he and Simon Evans made the sad decision in recent weeks when they realised they were not going to be able to run the fine dining eatery the way they had before the coronavirus crisis.

He said they would continue to be involved in Night Parrot where a new menu was introduced last week but won't be doing any more fine dining for a while.

"Night Parrot is just fun easy enjoyable food," he said.

Mr Chiumento said it was a particularly tough decision to make because they did not want to let their staff and customers down.

But when they realised a couple off weeks ago they would not be able to run the business the way they had done in the past they made the call.

"It is with great sadness we are closing," he said.

"Simon and I have poured everything we have had during the last few years into it. We were working north of 80 hours most weeks. We signed up for that. But then COVID completely ruined us and made it completely not feasible for us to be able to continue which is really sad.

"It is a financial and business decision completely taken out of our hands by the coronavirus. They are circumstances out of our control".

Mr Chiumento said he agonised over the decision because the team at Caveau who have worked so hard for so long to maintain such a high standard for the business and its customers.

"Everyone who works at Caveau are like close friends," he said.

Mr Chiumento said it was also really hard telling customers.

He said he will continue to be involved in Hidden Harvest and its Wasted Wednesday dinners when they get up and running again.

And Mr Evans will continue to be involved with the Good Will Only initiative.

Caveau is not the only fine dining restaurant in the region to not reopen after COVID-19. Biota at Bowral is another that made the decision in recent weeks.

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