Restaurant chain with 500 locations suddenly shuts two branches

A restaurant chain with more than 500 locations in the UK has suddenly closed two of its branches, leaving fans shocked. Yo! Sushi is known for introducing the concept of conveyer belt sushi to the UK more than 20 years ago. 

But since the start of this year, some of these restaurants have appeared to close their doors. Most recently, the eatery at Manchester’s Arndale Centre, which had been open for 15 years. Glasgow’s West George Street restaurant is also ‘permanently closed’, which was the last Yo! in the city centre. Fans have been left disappointed by the news, taking to social media to share their disappointment.

A TikToker in Glasgow posted a video of a poster in the window of the dark restaurant which read ‘We are now closed’ along with a QR code to find the nearest branch. According to the website, this branch has shut for good.

Fans left broken-hearted emojis in the comments, with many questioning the decision to close.

A few weeks ago, it was reported that Edinburgh’s Yo! Sushi branch on Princes Street had also closed. This means there’s only two actual restaurants remaining in the whole of Scotland – one in Braehead shopping centre in Glasgow, and one in Aberdeen’s Union Square.

It comes after the Manchester Arndale branch also shut its doors for good this week. It was one of the longest-standing YO! Sushi branches at 15 years old.

A spokesperson for Arndale has said a new restaurant brand is set to take its place soon. They shared: “All retail destinations see changes in their occupier line-ups and we can confirm that Yo Sushi has closed at Manchester Arndale.

“However thanks to the strong demand we receive from international and national restaurant brands, we will be announcing a new arrival for this space very soon.”

Again, this means there are no longer any Yo! restaurants in the centre of Manchester. If your closest Yo! Sushi has shut down, you can still purchase their products at various kiosks which are popping up in Tesco stores all over the country.

The company has been focusing on these openings due to the shift in consumer behaviour post-Covid.

Yo! Sushi first opened in London back in 1997 by entrepreneur Simon Woodroffe, after he was inspired by the concept of conveyer belt sushi restaurants popular in Japan. He admitted that ‘nobody turned’ for the first week when it opened in Soho, but by the time the second weekend rolled around, there were ‘queues down the block’.

Express.co.uk has contacted Yo! Sushi for comment