The Dominique Ansel Treehouse in Covent Garden will not reopen and Dominique Ansel Bakery in Victoria will close on August 31.

A statement from Ansel said: “London has been so wonderful and so supportive to us. Unfortunately, our licenser has told us that, in the light of the ongoing restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, they do not think it will be possible to continue operating either location profitably.”

The Treehouse opened but six months ago as a sister site to the bakery, which has been full of cronut fans and Instagrammers since 2016.

Ansel still has six sites around the world, including New York, LA, and Hong Kong, but the closures means he’ll be gone from the UK’s food scene.

Such was the popularity of the bakeries that reading it was not financially viable to carry on here is a touch alarming.