A PROMINENT restaurant in Bury St Edmunds has revealed it will not open its doors again.

Staff at La Tasca in Abbeygate Street, said yesterday that the branch of the Spanish chain had ceased trading on Sunday and were now packing away fixtures and fittings.

The confirmation followed an announcement on Twitter thanking customers and stating they had “closed for good”. Business leaders described the closure as a “shame” but said there had already been rumours that other restaurants had made inquiries about the site.

A spokesman for the Bury branch said: “We closed on Sunday. That is all I’m allowed to say. Everything is in boxes; we’re just packing everything up now.”

Mark Cordell, chief executive of town centre business group, Bid4Bury, said: “It is a real shame. My understanding is that the closure is part of the restructuring of the company and is no reflection on the Bury staff. Some leases are getting renegotiated and others are getting relinquished. Sadly, the latter is the case in Bury.”

All of the staff are said to have been offered positions in other La Tasca restaurants in Cambridge and Norwich, although at least three have taken catering positions within the town.

It is believed that the soon-be-vacant property, which has already had its distinctive sign removed from the front of the store, has already attracted attention from other restaurant chains.

Mr Cordell said he hoped whoever replaced La Tasca would have something “unique” about it.

A spokeswoman for La Tasca said: “We can confirm that we are planning to close our restaurant in Bury St Edmunds, and an additional 15 sites across the country.

“Unfortunately it was not economically viable to continue trading in these locations but we’d like to thank our customers for their support and loyalty over the years.”