An independent herbal health shop and tea room in Cardiff is closing after nearly a decade of trading after its energy costs "doubled". Michele Daramat, the owner of The Apothecary in Canton, said she realised in September that she wouldn't be able to sustain her shop for another year amid the cost of living crisis.
In November she made the final decision to stop trading and the business will close on Saturday, January 14. She told WalesOnline her custom still hadn't returned to its pre-Covid levels and this had been compounded by the soaring costs of gas and electricity.
"I got a Bounce Back Loan after the first lockdown, which I've still got to pay back – and we didn't bounce back," she said. "Since last June I've struggled to pay the rent here because the cost of electricity and gas has just gone up so much...it's not a charge you can really pass onto your customers.
