THE former owner of a city centre restaurant which recently shut down has shared his sadness over the closure.

Ashley Quinn, who opened Quinn’s, in Crowngate Shopping Centre, Worcester, said he was sad that the restaurant had only lasted six months under its new owner.

The Crown Estate, which owns Crowngate, confirmed that Quinn’s closed last week and staff had lost their jobs.

Mr Quinn, who set up the restaurant as Cafe Vienna in 1996, said: “I’m very sad that it has closed so quickly. It’s a fantastic site and location.

"I cooked the food, I was a chef there. The food was fresh every day and we did lovely fresh specials."

Mr Quinn, aged 53, who lives in St John’s, Worcester, said the business was not in debt when he sold the company in September.

He added: “They were supposed to be changing the name of the place when they took over. They had plans to make it into more of a wine bar."

The former owner said the bills had been paid when he sold the company to 27-year-old Gemma Pedley, who is listed as the sole director of Quinn Catering Limited on Companies House.

Mr Quinn saw the restaurant was shut on Monday, February 25, and later found out it had permanently closed.

He added: “I want to thank the fantastic customers and staff. There were some lovely people that worked there. A lot of people had their first jobs there.”

A former worker at the restaurant, Anna Trigg, wrote on the Worcester News Facebook page: “Quinn’s has been closed down for reasons only the staff are aware about.

“Being a staff member at Quinn’s was one of the best experiences of my life, I learnt so much there and worked with the kindest bosses and staff, where everyone was there for each other.

“I always felt excited about going into work because the atmosphere was always positive, which brought all of our customers to the door. I will never enjoy a job the way I enjoyed working at Quinn’s and it’s going to be missed a lot.”

A spokesman for the Crown Estate previously said: “Sadly, we understand Quinn’s restaurant has closed. Our thoughts are with those people who have lost their jobs as a result of the closure, and wish them well for the future.”

Cafe Vienna became Quinn’s in 2012 as part of a rebrand.

Ms Pedley was unavailable for comment.