La Buvette joins a long string of closures in Potts Point

Seriously, what's happening in Potts Point? Another week, another local institution closes.

La Buvette, a 25-year staple of Challis Avenue, has shut. Its sibling neighbour Spring Espresso is also gone.

It caps a horrid month for the neighbourhood, which has lost Billy Kwong, Merivale's The Fish Shop and Mere Catherine, a restaurant that, until now, successfully navigated recessions and downturns since 1974.

At the end of the month the chef's hatted Paper Bird will follow.

The golden restaurant strip has lost a little of its lustre, local operators pointing to decreased foot traffic and higher rents.

"It's a bit like what happened to Crown Street a few years ago," says Paper Bird owner-chef Ben Sears.

He echoes the thoughts of several local operators in arguing the lockout laws have played a part.

"People like to kick on after a meal to the local bars. The other thing is there is now good food everywhere [in Sydney]," he adds.

Many of the stalwarts are still seemingly trading well, and it hasn't stopped Potts Point's Generation Next stepping up.

Last week Franca opened in the former site of Fratelli Fresh.

And the Buvette space has an incoming operator.

A cafe and wine bar, La Bomba, is headed into the Challis Avenue site.

Nick Stone, a former chef at MONA in Hobart, is tipped to be involved in the start-up.