A restaurant on King Street has closed its doors for good citing recent changes to a stretch of the downtown street.

Pearl King – which has operated at King and John streets for the past five years – posted a sign on the entrance of their restaurant stating their immediate closure.

“We are grateful of all your love and support to us from the very beginning,” the sign said. “We have grown a lot due to your friendship to us. But, in order to cut down the business cost and due to depression in market and as well as all these changes on King Street, we will have to close our operations at this location.”

The sign said Pearl Harbourfront, located on Queens Quay West, will remain open.

A pilot project on King Street between Jarvis and Bathurst streets that began on Nov. 12, 2017 only allows vehicles, except TTC and emergency vehicles, to travel one block before being forced to make a right-hand turn. The project is scheduled for one year.

The city has noted that the trial has been successful in improving commute times for the tens of thousands of people who use the King streetcar every day, but business owners in the area have railed against the project.

In the wake of the criticism, the city implemented a number of measures to help encourage customers to eat, drink and shop on King Street. Some of the initiatives include discounted parking in the area, the ‘Food is King’ promotion that gave diners a $15 credit to order food from several nearby restaurants using the Ritual app and waiving the application fee allowing businesses to set up patio space in the curbside lane of the street.