Hendersons restaurants to close for good

July 13, 2020 7:54 pm

There was some sad news earlier today that city restaurant, Hendersons, will not be opening again after the coronavirus pandemic.

A liquidator was appointed to Hendersons Holyrood on 2 July 2020 by creditors.

The award-winning vegan restaurant set up by Janet Henderson in 1962 with the surplus fruit and vegetables from her East Lothian farm expanded into many other venues in the city. One of those was the café under St Giles which has been closed for a time.

With seven children, Janet who died in 1973, had a large family many of whom followed in her footsteps. Latterly it was Oliver and Catherine the two youngest who ran the company, with Barrie Henderson in charge at 94 Hanover Street.

The restaurant will be a great loss to the capital. It began as a way of showing people the benefits of eating a healthy diet, and Janet’s husband, the late Mac lived to 101, testament to that idea. He played rugby for Edinburgh Accies and won three Scotland caps as a forward in the Triple Crown winning team in 1933.

A spokesman for the family told The Daily Business:” ‘Our family has been privileged to play our part in Janet and Mac’s great adventure that has been so well supported over the years by many wonderful customers, staff and suppliers whom we would like to thank.

“It has been a very difficult decision. There have been many challenging times however Covid was the final straw and it is with deep regret we have had to go into voluntary liquidation.

“The three restaurants and deli will not re-open and the staff and suppliers have been informed.

“We shall all miss being part of Edinburgh’s bustling restaurant scene.”

We can only wonder what might happen with the fabulous mural inside the restaurant which was painted by artist, Ken Wolverton. We met Ken in New Mexico a couple of years ago and he related the story of the mural to us then. It features Roobin Harper the former Green MSP, Mike Rowan aka Big Rory and many members of the Henderson family.