After 26 years in business, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is closing due to costs being too high for both customers and restaurant operators, CNN reports.

Deanes EIPIC, the flagship restaurant of the empire founded by Northern Irish chef Michael Dean in the 1990s, received its first Michelin star a year after opening as Deanes in 1997.

However, the company announced this month that Deanes EIPIC will close by the end of 2023 due to prices being too high for customers and the impact of Covid, Brexit and the cost of living crisis. A relaunch is planned with a new focus on “value for money”.

Chef Alex Green, a finalist on The Great British Menu, tells CNN Travel that he sees the move as symptomatic of a growing trend in the hospitality industry.

“EIPIC has not been a dying restaurant in general,” he says, “but “people are waiting when they walk in the door. The cost of meeting these expectations has doubled since the Covid quarantine, the cost is out of control. And we cannot double the price.”

The set menu at EIPIC costs £100 (about $123), so it’s not at the extreme end of the price scale, but as a small city, Belfast doesn’t have the same influx of high-end restaurants as London or Paris.

EIPIC follows the classic fine dining model that has won many Michelin stars across Europe and beyond.

However, according to the chef, modern Michelin-caliber restaurants are “more trimmed.” While the passion, dedication and quality of the food is still there, “there are no more white linen tablecloths, it’s not the same level of service” and “it’s more economical to deliver to the customer”.

Although the market for traditional fine dining still exists, it is shrinking.