New Bristol restaurant and bar closes its doors suddenly three months after opening

A new restaurant and music venue that opened in Bristol three months ago has closed its doors suddenly.

Bessell Scott’s House of Jazz on East Street in Bedminster opened in July in a former bank building that had been derelict for more than a decade.

Inspired by New Orleans jazz bars and London’s Jazz Cafe, Bessell Scott’s House of Jazz was due to open in 2022 but it had been delayed after the pandemic.

Since it opened in July, it had gained a strong local reputation for its jazz nights, food and ‘secret’ cocktail bar in the former bank’s basement vault.

Bessell Scotts jazz bar and restaurant was the second venue to be opened by jazz enthusiasts Jodi Bessell and business partner Chris Scott, who also have a similar venue in Bristol’s Cheswick Village, as well as a barbers.

The East Street restaurant was spread over two floors with seating for 75 diners and the cocktail bar seated 18 drinkers.

But the venue has closed its doors suddenly and it’s listed as ‘permanently closed’ on Google.

A message posted on the venue’s Facebook page over the weekend said: “We regret to inform everyone that The House of Jazz has had to close. We thank everyone for their support”.

The Facebook page has now been deleted, as has the website, although the Cheswick Village venue appears to be trading normally.

Bristol World has contacted the owners for comment.