{"id":34479,"date":"2019-03-08T13:14:48","date_gmt":"2019-03-08T13:14:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jomec.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/?p=34479"},"modified":"2019-03-08T13:14:48","modified_gmt":"2019-03-08T13:14:48","slug":"quirk-dedication-and-solidarity-independent-eateries-in-wales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2019\/03\/08\/quirk-dedication-and-solidarity-independent-eateries-in-wales\/","title":{"rendered":"Quirk, dedication and solidarity &#8211; independent eateries in Wales"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><figure id=\"attachment_34485\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-34485\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-34485\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/gios-1-440x550.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-34485\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-34485\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/gios-1-440x550.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" \/><\/noscript> Giovanni&#8217;s restaurant on The Hayes<\/figcaption><\/figure><br \/>\n<figure id=\"attachment_34486\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-34486\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-34486\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/heaneys-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/heaneys-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/heaneys-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/heaneys-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/heaneys-770x770.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/heaneys-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/heaneys.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/heaneys-293x293.jpg 293w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/heaneys-500x500.jpg 500w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/heaneys-390x390.jpg 390w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/heaneys-585x585.jpg 585w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/heaneys-900x900.jpg 900w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/heaneys-1400x1400.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-34486\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-34486\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/heaneys-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/heaneys-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/heaneys-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/heaneys-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/heaneys-770x770.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/heaneys-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/heaneys.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/heaneys-293x293.jpg 293w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/heaneys-500x500.jpg 500w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/heaneys-390x390.jpg 390w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/heaneys-585x585.jpg 585w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/heaneys-900x900.jpg 900w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/heaneys-1400x1400.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/noscript> Heaney&#8217;s in Pontcanna<\/figcaption><\/figure><br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nIN recent months, large chains such as HMV, Giraffe and Jamie\u2019s Italian have announced closures up and down the UK.<br \/>\nHowever, many of these closures have not affected Cardiff city centre branches as businesses retain confidence in the Welsh consumer.<br \/>\nAccording to the British Retail Consortium, overall footfall and sales on our nation\u2019s high streets have dropped by nearly one per cent.<br \/>\nHowever, food sales have continued to grow, with two and a half per cent growth in comparison with last year.<br \/>\n<em>The Cardiffian <\/em>spoke to three very different eateries to understand why Cardiff remains an attractive city for the hospitality sector.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Giovanni\u2019s \u2013 The Hayes<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><figure id=\"attachment_34495\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-34495\" style=\"width: 960px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-34495 size-full-slider\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/giosinside-980x380.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"372\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-34495\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-34495 size-full-slider\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/giosinside-980x380.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"372\" \/><\/noscript> Inside Giovanni&#8217;s<\/figcaption><\/figure><br \/>\nGiovanni\u2019s has been going for 35 years \u2013 making it one of the oldest Italian restaurants in Wales.<br \/>\nGiovanni Malacrino is its larger-than-life owner, well-known for rubbing shoulders with stars like opera star Pavarotti and Welsh legend Sir Tom Jones.<br \/>\nIn a show of confidence in the capital, Mr Malacrino has recently expanded his business into Cardiff Bay with Piatto Pasta House, adding a third restaurant to his successful brand.<br \/>\nSo how has the Cardiff food scene changed over the years?<br \/>\n\u201cI think the council appreciate independents much more,\u201d he said.<br \/>\n\u201cPeople enjoyed the chains originally because they knew that no matter where they went, they were getting the same food.<br \/>\n\u201cNow, people want to try different things. When somebody comes in you want them to feel like they\u2019re coming into your home to share a great night with you.\u201d<br \/>\nMr Malacrino attributed the longevity of his business to his staff, some of whom have worked in Giovanni\u2019s for over 25 years.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat I do every single day of the week, is I walk into my kitchen and hug, kiss or shake hands with my kitchen staff,&#8221; he said.<br \/>\n\u201cBut you also have to appreciate your customers, even now I get people ringing me up to book a table and I always take the booking and pass it on to the managers.<br \/>\n\u201cThe reason I take them myself is that it seems like only yesterday I was stood by the phone in Giovanni\u2019s praying to God someone would call to book a table.<br \/>\n\u201cWhen you\u2019re successful you can\u2019t let it get to your head. When I needed them I was on the end of the phone and even now I\u2019m still on the end of that phone.<br \/>\n\u201cKeep it personal and be grateful for your customers.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Chance and Counters \u2013 High Street<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><figure id=\"attachment_34500\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-34500\" style=\"width: 960px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-34500 size-full-slider\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/boardgame-980x380.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"372\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-34500\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-34500 size-full-slider\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/boardgame-980x380.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"372\" \/><\/noscript> Inside Chance and Counters<\/figcaption><\/figure><br \/>\nWith everything from Science Cream\u2019s liquid nitrogen made ice cream to the vegan meat caf\u00e9 The Greazy Vegan, Wales\u2019 capital has a love for the quirky.<br \/>\nCo-owner of board game caf\u00e9 Chance and Counters, Steve Cownie, says it is important for an independent business to have a Unique Selling Point.<br \/>\n\u201cWe have a niche that makes us inherently quite different and unique. Having a USP reduces our marketing costs and makes it easier to compete with chains,&#8221; said Mr Cownie, 29.<br \/>\n\u201cWe don\u2019t tend to go for traditional advertisers but do more stuff on social media. But\u00a0 it\u00a0is more than a way to bring people in to the caf\u00e9, it\u2019s about sharing our love of board games.<br \/>\n\u201cIt\u2019s not just a marketing ploy, we think it helps get people off their phones and talking, while they try and destroy each other in a game.\u201d<br \/>\nChance and Counters opened in Bristol in 2016 and, following its success, expanded in November 2018 to first-floor premises\u00a0tucked away on High Street.<br \/>\n\u201cPeople aren\u2019t really expecting it when they walk in off the street. They come in from the Six Nations and find themselves in an oasis of calm.<br \/>\n\u201cWe\u2019ve got an amazing place in Bristol but it\u2019s not as great a location as Cardiff\u2019s High Street.\u00a0We have also found the public sector in Cardiff is really helpful towards local businesses.\u201d<br \/>\nAmong the hundreds of board games lining the wall are Donald Trump: The Game and James Bond Junior: The Game. I ask Mr Cownie what his next new board game purchase will be.<br \/>\n\u201cI\u2019m in a bidding war with a man from Lithuania over an anti-smoking board game.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Heaneys\u00a0<\/strong><strong>\u2013\u00a0<\/strong><strong>Pontcanna<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><figure id=\"attachment_34501\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-34501\" style=\"width: 960px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-34501 size-full-slider\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/insideheaney-980x380.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"372\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-34501\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-34501 size-full-slider\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/03\/insideheaney-980x380.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"372\" \/><\/noscript> Inside Heaney&#8217;s<\/figcaption><\/figure><br \/>\nTommy Heaney is one of the UK culinary scene\u2019s rising stars. His previous Bridgend business, Restaurant Tommy Heaney at The Great House hotel, was regularly featured in the Michelin guide and in 2017 Mr Heaney was a finalist in The Great British Menu.<br \/>\nHe raised \u00a340,000 in June 2018 to open his own Cardiff-based business, with more freedom to put his signature laid-back style on the restaurant.<br \/>\n\u201cWe never wanted to be fine dining, there\u2019s a preconception that it\u2019s going to be stuffy and that the opposite of what we want to do,&#8221; said Mr Heaney.<br \/>\n\u201cWe wanted to do something where someone can pop down and have a glass of wine and an oyster, or have a 10-course taster menu.<br \/>\n\u201cWe looked at Bristol, we looked at Swansea and then we looked at this site and fell in love with the area.<br \/>\n\u201cPontcanna appealed to us more than Cardiff city centre because of all the independent businesses around the area. If you go into the centre it\u2019s much more branded.\u201d<br \/>\nMr Heaney is filled with enthusiasm and solidarity for\u00a0other independent businesses in the area.<br \/>\n\u201cWe try to support independent restaurants around here. There\u2019s so much to see in Pontcanna.\u00a0You\u2019ve got: Br\u00f8d the Danish bakery, Cameo, Canna Deli, further up you\u2019ve got Milkwood.<br \/>\n\u201cThere\u2019s also the Dusty Knuckle which does amazing pizzas. You can sit outside in the middle of winter and have a pizza with a blanket and hot water bottle.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cI don\u2019t think there are enough independent restaurants in Cardiff. I think it\u2019s very difficult to go into the centre of town because of the brands.<br \/>\n\u201cThere\u2019s not enough support for each other in the independent scene. It\u2019s healthy to be competitive but realistically we should all be trying to build the food scene in Cardiff and draw people in.<br \/>\n\u201cI don\u2019t want to talk about business rates in the city centre, but it\u2019s an issue that\u2019s in the back of people\u2019s minds when they open because it\u2019s a massive factor in running a business.\u201d<br \/>\nThe Irish chef says there are plenty of customers to go around. The main issue is Welsh food suppliers.<br \/>\n\u201cThe biggest downfall for us in Wales is the lack of seafood. Some of the best seafood comes from Wales, but getting your hands on it is another story.<br \/>\n\u201cIf I want to get razor clams from the Gower, it\u2019s impossible. But I can get them from France, I can get them from Scotland.<br \/>\n\u201cI end up paying more for local Welsh lamb than I will for British lamb that has to be imported.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; IN recent months, large chains such as HMV, Giraffe and Jamie\u2019s Italian have announced closures up and down the UK. However, many of these closures have not affected Cardiff city centre branches as businesses retain confidence in the Welsh consumer. According to the British Retail Consortium, overall footfall and sales on our nation\u2019s high streets have dropped by nearly one per cent. However, food sales have continued to grow, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":139,"featured_media":34482,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[92,111,14,3],"tags":[919,6526,398,6414,6527,1508,210,713],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-34479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-city","category-food-and-drink","category-longer-reads","category-news","tag-business","tag-chance-and-counter","tag-food","tag-giovannis","tag-heaneys","tag-independent","tag-pontcanna","tag-restaurant"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Quirk, dedication and solidarity - independent eateries in Wales - The Cardiffian<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2019\/03\/08\/quirk-dedication-and-solidarity-independent-eateries-in-wales\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Quirk, dedication and solidarity - independent eateries in Wales - The Cardiffian\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; IN recent months, large chains such as HMV, Giraffe and Jamie\u2019s Italian have announced closures up and down the UK. However, many of these closures have not affected Cardiff city centre branches as businesses retain confidence in the Welsh consumer. According to the British Retail Consortium, overall footfall and sales on our nation\u2019s high streets have dropped by nearly one per cent. 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&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; IN recent months, large chains such as HMV, Giraffe and Jamie\u2019s Italian have announced closures up and down the UK. However, many of these closures have not affected Cardiff city centre branches as businesses retain confidence in the Welsh consumer. According to the British Retail Consortium, overall footfall and sales on our nation\u2019s high streets have dropped by nearly one per cent. 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