The challenges faced by the hospitality industry escalates as The Grand Bar and Kitchen in the City Centre announces it is closing.
Dozens of restaurants and bars across Cardiff were forced to shutdown in the last three years. The last few years have been tough for the hospitality industry, since pandemic most of them are struggling to survive , increase in cost of living and taxes being one of the many reasons.
The Grand Bar and Kitchen is the latest victim of the crisis. The restaurant announced its closing last week. Angie Evans is the director of Grand Bar and Kitchen ” It’s sad really, it’s been a difficult process coming out of lockdown, but looking at future with the wage increases coming in April, the taxes and supplies we figured we weren’t going to make a profit”.
Ms. Evans says there has been an increase in supply problems post-Brexit. “There are a lot of supply issues at the moment, as much as we loved to support local suppliers, it became quite expensive” says Angie.
According to UK Hospitality Market Analysis, the hospitality industry was one of the economy’s worst-hit sectors during the pandemic.
The year 2024 has got off to a bad start for the hospitality as various well-known restaurants in Cardiff announced their closures. All of them due to lack of customers, supply issues, or increase in rent and taxes.
The Conway – Cardiff’s first entry into the Michelin Pub Guide were the first to announce their closing. Writing on Facebook the team said: “We are extremely sad to have to announce the closure of The Conway. The much-publicised financial difficulties which have plagued the hospitality industry have finally become too unwieldly to manage. Despite our very best efforts to mitigate them, the challenge is now too great to enable us to continue trading. You have all helped us put The Conway into the heart of the local Pontcanna community over the last 15 years.”
Another popular restaurant Brass Beetle closed its door at the end of January. In their Instagram post, they highlighted the importance of supporting local independent businesses. In the statement, they wrote: “We have an announcement to make; we have come to the almost impossible decision to close down the Brass Beetle at the end of the month. This is not a decision we have taken lightly but is due to the challenging issues facing the hospitality industry.”
Society Standard on Whitchurch Road also announced their closure. Posting on Instagram on Tuesday, January 23, they said: “We feel that we have really been a ‘local’ for so many, which is exactly what we wanted. We know that we have started relationships and friendships time and time again. We have had wonderful, dedicated staff who’ve been with us on this journey and we thank them all. Godspeed to all those indies that are still fighting on but for us it’s game over x”
“It’s heart breaking to see something you put so much of love, money and effort into close, but sometimes you need to think from your head” says Angie.
There have been calls for the Welsh Government to rethink plans to cut rates relief from 75% to 40%.