A popular Mexican restaurant in Yeovil will be permanently closing tonight (Tuesday, December 31). Restaurant owner Matt took to Facebook a few days ago to announce that Kazbar will not be here in 2025: “It is with a heavy heart that I must share the sad news of our closure.
“We will be open as usual tonight and tomorrow, but the 31st December will be our closing night. I am very proud of what Kazbar has achieved over nearly 11 years of being open. A big thank you to everyone who has ever worked here, and to all of our amazing regular customers over the years.”
One long-time customer said he was ‘devastated’ by the news: “This is devastating news. I remember coming to your opening night! I used to come by often before I moved away from the area.
“Sadly Yeovil’s night time economy just isn’t there it seems like a lot of small towns. Instead people are happy to go to horrendous chains instead of fantastic independent restaurants and bars. Thoughts with you and your staff.”
Another commenter blamed people supposedly supporting big chains over independent businesses: “What an absolute shame, you guys have been an integral part of Yeovil. But I also fully understand your decision.
“People of Yeovil have to support the independents rather than the corporate businesses. Sadly cheapness will always win. It’s such a hard climate right now.”
One person speculated that Kazbar was simply “too classy” for the area: “Too classy an establishment in a place that has virtually none. Many a good night there in the past.
“Sorry to see you go Matt and hope you can find a classy place to open, wish I could have supported you more recently- but I never go to that town nowadays.”
Kazbar has been through a lot of changes during its final year of operation. In August, Matt announced that he would have to add an 8% surcharge in a bid to survive, saying they would have to charge or close.
The move received mixed feedback, but Matt said that the other option would be to use cheaper ingredients which he felt would undermine the restaurant’s ethos. Commenting on Facebook, Matt said: “One option I have considered, is to change our business model, which would involve using cheaper ingredients, making cocktails weaker and doing away with table service.
“This would certainly save money and I wouldn’t need to charge a surcharge, but I feel this would undermine what we stand for.”
In October, the restaurant switched from serving tapas to Mexican food.