ONE OF the country’s most exclusive restaurants, the Michelin-starred Thornton’s, owned and operated by celebrity chef Kevin Thornton, returned to profit last year.
Abridged accounts just filed to the Companies Office by Conted Ltd, trading as Thornton’s Restaurant, show the 80-seater Dublin restaurant recorded an after-tax profit of €37,990 in the year to the end of August last, compared to an after-tax loss of €17,354 in 2008.
In spite of the return to profit in a financial year which saw the closure of another Dublin-based Michelin-starred restaurant, Mint, Conted Ltd had total net liabilities of €52,590 at the end of August.
As a result, in a note to the accounts, Conted Ltd’s directors, Kevin Thornton and his wife Muriel, state they have “considered the uncertainty in the current economic and financial environment and are confident that the company will be in a position to trade through these difficult trading circumstances, and continue to take appropriate steps to manage its business activities in this environment. The shareholders have indicated their willingness to continue to provide continued financial support.” The note adds: “In view of the foregoing, the directors are of the opinion that the accounts should be prepared on a going concern basis.”
As the accounts are abridged, they do not disclose turnover.
The Thorntons first established the restaurant in Portobello, Dublin, in 1995, before moving to its present location on St Stephen’s Green in 2002.
Cashel native Thornton was the first Irish chef to receive two Michelin stars, and Thornton’s today is one of six Irish restaurants to attain a star – Patrick Guilbaud in Merrion Square remains Ireland’s only two-star restaurant.
