Melbourne’s Ezard restaurant to close after 20 years
Melbourne fine diner Ezard has closed after 20 years of service, with plans for a new casual Japanese-Korean diner set to take its place.
Chef Teage Ezard told Broadsheet that the Covid-19 shutdown was a catalyst but not the cause of the restaurant’s closure, saying it was “just time”.
“I want to thank the Melbourne people for the journey, and the ride, and for the support they’ve given me over the years,” he said.
“I’m just very grateful for the time and the years we’ve done at Ezard, and the customers we’ve managed to make happy. And I think we’re going out on a high.
“But also, for me, it’s time for a different direction. Time to do a quicker, more casual concept.”
Ezard said they had been working on the new diner concept “for quite some time”.
“It’s a fun, fast-casual, scalable model that offers great value and still has hallmarks of Asian cuisine,” he said. “I’m really focused on Korea and Japan, and we’re looking at incorporating elements of modern Indian into that as well.”
The team is looking at city and city-fringe locations for the new development.
Sheridan Randall, 5th June 2020
