‘Unforeseeable’: Japanese restaurant Umaii in Adelaide closes its doors

Staff at a beloved Japanese restaurant in Adelaide’s CBD were given just 24 hours’ notice the venue would close its doors for good.

Staff at a popular Japanese restaurant in Adelaide’s CBD were given just 24 hours’ notice the venue would close its doors for good.

Acclaimed eatery Umaii announced the “unforeseeable” news of its impending closure to its team on April 19, before holding its last dinner service on Saturday night.

“It was unforeseeable and as we serve our last guests it is bittersweet,” manager Aki Edmonds told The Advertiser.

“The restaurant has always been an extension of our home and has let our guests feel a part of our world.

“It is really sad as we thought we were on a winner, and I think our head chef, Chester, had nailed it on the head with the menu.”

Umaii, in Adelaide’s CBD, has closed its doors.

Owner and chef Chester Chan, who moved to the city from Hong Kong a decade ago, opened Umaii on Currie Street in November 2022.

In an email to diners announcing Umaii’s closure, Mr Edmonds thanked them for their continued support.

“It is a very surreal feeling, however, it is one we are seeing occur all too often,” he wrote.

Mr Edmonds echoed the sentiment to The Advertiser, saying that the closure reflected the current hospitality climate in the South Australian capital.

“We are seeing it happen more frequently and it’s a real shame because Adelaide not only boasts great food and beverages but I think we are also becoming the epicentre of hospitality,” he said.

Umaii owner and chef, Chester Chan, opened the restaurant in November 2022.

In an email to diners, manager Aki Edmonds thanked them for their support.

Umaii’s closure follows a similar trend in Melbourne and Sydney, with a number of high-profile restaurants shuttering ahead of winter when trade historically slows.

Izakaya Den, a hidden CBD basement eatery responsible for bringing Japan’s ‘Izakaya culture’ to Melbourne when it opened in 2009, announced on Friday it would hold its final service next weekend after more than a decade in business.

Owner Simon Denton told the Herald Sun he and co-owners Miyuki Nakahara and Takashi Omi “had been holding on for tooth and nail” since mid-2023, but resolved to place the 15-year-old business into voluntary administration.

“We were forced into this, the option to go on wasn’t an option,” Mr Denton said.

“Looking forward into winter and with everything that’s happening in the city, we were facing a perfect storm of problems. We realised it was time to let go.”

Raja in Potts Point will hold its final service on May 4.

Indian restaurant Raja, in Sydney’s Potts Point, also announced on Friday it would be closing, after only nine months of operations.

Co-owner Nick Mathews-Boden told Good Food they’d struggled to make ends meet since January, calling it “the most challenging” period for the industry he’d seen in 20 years.

“We’re all sick of hearing about it, but it’s because of the cost of living. People who had money to go out once a week might be going out once a month now, or not at all,” Mr Mathews-Boden said.

“And you can’t blame anyone for that, we all have to be mindful of how we spend the limited resources we have.”

Originally published as ‘Unforeseeable’: Japanese restaurant Umaii in Adelaide closes its doors