Ryan Chetiyawardana announces Cub closure

Cub founders Ryan Chetiyawardana and Doug McMaster have confirmed they will not reopen the celebrated London venue following lockdown measures in the UK.

Cub was designed to be a sustainable drinks-led, luxury dining experience

Based in Hoxton, London, Cub opened in September 2017 at the site of Chetiyawardana’s first bar, White Lyan.

Cub was designed to be a ‘luxury sustainable drinks-led dining experience’. The site was focused on sustainability and endeavoured to minimise waste, and show that luxury experiences need not be wasteful.

Chetiyawardana, aka Mr Lyan, said: “Cub was named as the baby of the group – it was precious and important – and it is incredibly sad to see it go.

“What the team created was something we were truly in awe of – something that reflected our desire to provide a super fun space for our guests, that also showed that our generation could have a positive impact on the world of food and drink.

“Although it won’t reopen as a permanent space, we certainly will continue its legacy as that still stands strong, and something we hope to bring back in the future.”

Cub originally sat above Chetiyawardana’s basement bar Super Lyan, which relocated to Amsterdam last year as the bar group went international. Mr Lyan’s Dandelyan in London was transformed into Lyaness, while Silver Lyan was opened in Washington DC in the US.

The group hopes to continue the Cub brand in the form of pop-ups and events in the future.

The UK on-trade was forced to shut on 20 March to slow the spread of Covid-19. Bars in England were not permitted to reopen until 4 July.