A successful independent restaurant has closed down due to rocketing energy bills. John Dolan, who owns the Gatehouse Steakhouse in Dolgellau, made the announcement on the business' Facebook page.
"We had planned on being here for another four years, doing our thing, having fun, and serving great food," wrote Mr Dolan, who ran the restaurant with his wife Vita. "Unfortunately, we were quoted £7,378 per month on gas and electricity, and this was the best quote. This is a huge increase from what we have been paying, and it is just not realistic for a small independent business to thrive with such overheads... and 'surviving' is just treading water.
"Since opening this sleepy restaurant in April 2016, we have truly maximised the business in every way possible whilst maintaining our values and continuing to improve in all aspects. But to be tasked with increasing revenue by another £5.5k per month just to keep the lights on makes this pretty pointless. Take away the passion and love, friendships, banter, laughs, etc. The goal of this business is to be profitable. To add £66,000 extra to our already high annual bills, leaves me with more questions than answers on how to generate that extra revenue, with extra workload, but no extra profits... whilst dealing with increasing supplier prices (the suppliers are also being hit with huge increases, which will increase product prices).
