A swanky cocktail bar in a town centre has shut suddenly just a year after opening.

The owners behind The Mixologist in Rochester High Street had wanted to “bring something new to the town” but have blamed the cost of living crisis for the closure.

Helen Finch, an accountant and her partner Ollie Tullett, an ex-policeman and management consultant said they had put everything into the venture.

Helen said: “It’s very sad. We tried everything. But on Friday we decided we could not continue.”

The Mixologist, housed in a three-storey historic building near Rochester Bridge, started to attract guests with its top-notch tipples last June.

A trained mixologist was hired to create a wide range of personally created drinks served in lavish surroundings of the listed venue.

But over the weekend, normally the most popular period for frequenters of the town’s lively night-time economy, it was shut.

Newspapers were placed over the windows and its facebook page has been deleted.

The couple, who live in Blue Bell Hill, based the business on bars they liked to frequent in London in and out of lockdowns.

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