Chi Street Food in Basingstoke closing after seven years

Chi Street Food will be closing its doors for the last time on October 3, after six years and nine months of trading in Festival Place.

The contemporary Pan Asian restaurant first opened in February 2020, before closing due to Covid-19 and reopening after the lockdown.

Myra Fernandez, manager and franchise owner, 31, said: “I’m very, very grateful for the people of Basingstoke that have come around and supported us. And we have those regular people that we've seen back in 2020 still coming here to eat.

Myra Fernandez outside of Chi (Image: Newsquest)

“ I am so sad, giving up this place here. You have a bond with the customers, I think that’s the part that hurts the most.”

She said sharing the news on Instagram was ‘very heartbreaking’ and she has had messages from customers in support.

Having been in the centre for so long, Myra said that they feel they have been able to see their customers grow.

She said: “We have been telling people we’re closing. Some of them were like ‘We came here on my first day and look, we have a baby now.’”

Myra said the restaurant is closing after an agreement could not be reached to extend the lease, adding that committing to another five to ten years felt difficult as “businesses are not the same as they were a couple of years ago”.

Chi Street Food (Image: Newsquest)

She said Chi was popular as their menu is different from anywhere else and they only use fresh ingredients.

She said: “Our katsu curry is very, very popular and a lot of people are obsessed with it.”

Myra started at Chi in 2019 as a supervisor and then was promoted to assistant manager, general manager, and now is the director and owner of the franchise.

When given the opportunity to franchise the restaurant, she leapt for it as she had ‘always wished to run her own restaurant.’

She said: “I'm very grateful for the opportunity that I have had. I've learned like quite a lot as well.

“Dealing with amazing people, good suppliers, and everything, and we have built that special bond with each other as well.”

She said the restaurant has enjoyed taking on new staff over the years and has trained many members who had no experience in food service.