AN award-winning restaurant is closing its doors to the public, but not because of the recession.

Owner of Scutchers bistro in Long Melford, Nick Barrett says although trade hit a rough patch in 2009-10, the decision to “take a break” was more a career choice than a necessity.

Mr Barrett and his wife Diane, who have run the fine dining restaurant for the past 20 years, will continue to offer an outside catering service and will open for “special events”.

Several other eateries in the area have gone to the wall including Gappmaiers Restaurant on Hall Street in the same village. The premises are still up for rent and have been empty for several months.

But Mr Barrett said support for their business had been so good that locals were considering getting a petition together to prevent the restaurant from closing.

He said: “We have been here for 20 years and have put every waking hour into running Scutchers. I work in the kitchen and my wife does front of house so we are always here. We just want a break – but we are not saying never again.”

He admitted that custom had “dropped off a bit” a year or two ago when people were eating out less frequently.

“We have all been brainwashed into thinking that we can’t be seen to be going out and enjoying ourselves during a recession but having said that, this year’s takings were up on the year before,” he said.

Despite a trend toward “takeaway” food as opposed to dining out, Mr Barrett said he believed people would still pay good money to eat out if the food was of a high quality.

Sudbury Chamber of Commerce chairman Chris Storey agreed, saying that more pubs in the area serving “bar snacks” had gone out of businesses than restaurants.

He added: “Many good restaurants are lucky enough to keep a loyal following if they are in the right location, especially if they can come up with something inventive to set them apart from other restaurants and to pull customers in from other areas.

“I think somewhere like the Mill Hotel in Sudbury has got it right. They have spent a lot of money making changes to the place which have made the whole dining experience so much better. It is a very competitive market at the moment and restaurant owners can’t afford to rest on their laurels. They need to keep coming up with new and innovative ideas.”

During their sabbatical, Nick and Diane Barrett intend to offer occasional cooking demonstrations and wine tastings. They already have people interested in booking the whole restaurant out for weddings and private functions.

If locals put enough pressure on them, the couple will also consider opening occasionally on Friday and Saturday evenings.