Flor de Maga Gastrobar, the well-known high-end Creole cuisine restaurant in Cidra, Puerto Rico, announced on Friday the immediate and definitive cessation of its operations through an emotional message posted on its digital platforms. The business, led by entrepreneur Nashalí López, said it had planned to welcome customers over the weekend to say goodbye in person, but unforeseen circumstances forced it to close abruptly ahead of schedule.
In the farewell message, the restaurant thanked customers who chose it, recommended it and returned, as well as its staff for keeping the gastronomic and cultural concept going. The closure comes as the Restaurant Association of Puerto Rico (ASORE) projected that 26% of the 5,000 restaurants operating on the island would not withstand a new increase in the electricity rate or the inflationary impact it would cause in the supply chain.
According to a report by the firm Inteligencia Económica, prepared between September 15 and October 14, if only closures already decided or very likely occur, about 1,300 establishments would close and roughly 4,700 direct jobs would be at risk, mainly at independent restaurants. Flor de Maga’s farewell joins other local businesses that recently announced closures, including La Manada, Buenos Ayres Market & Grill and Ujeong Korean BBQ.