Bossa closes as Fazenda group focuses on upmarket brands

City District group has this week closed its flagship Bossa restaurant in Leeds city centre, just ten months after opening its doors.

The group - who operates Fazenda and Picanha restaurants around the north - pitched Bossa as a “young, fun and good value” concept with a more casual atmosphere and accessible price-point than its existing restaurants, but with a similar food offering of all-you-can-eat Brazilian barbecued meat. However since opening in September 2016, it struggled to attract its intended audience.

“We tried the casual dining market and it wasn’t as successful for us as we anticipated.”

“We tried the casual dining market and it wasn’t as successful for us as we anticipated.” says Tomas Maunier, co-founder of City District. “However, we have not ruled out opening Bossa in the future when the market is more stable and less saturated.”

City District will be focusong on its premium concepts Fazenda - which opened in Leeds in 2010 - and Picanha, which is soon to expand into Edinburgh since opening in Chester.

This news follows the recent closure of Espeto - the Wellington street Brazilian restaurant - in May. Whether this is this a sign of a looming burst bubble for casual dining remains to be seen - though with Fazenda, Bem Brasil, Cabana, and Estabulo all fighting for the same customers in the City centre with a similar product, it may have simply been inevitable that some brands wouldn’t survive.