The Ranelagh branch of the Cafe Bar Deli group, owned by restaurateurs Jay Bourke and Eoin Foyle, has been closed with the loss of 20 jobs.

The branch closed at the weekend after excessive competition and customers’ under-spending meant it wasn’t making enough, Mr Bourke said.

Attempts to get a rent reduction for the outlet had not been successful, he added.

He said the group’s outlets on Dublin’s George’s Street and on Academy Street, Cork, were 'doing all right in the context of this awful recession'.