Customers are gutted that a greasy spoon they've eaten at for years will be closing down due to rising costs. A cafe has been in that location for decades. For nearly 20 years it has been Kelly's Cafe, serving breakfasts and lunches, and in the 1990s it was known as Parker's Cafe.
The business, in Abbey Street, Lenton, will close at the end of the month. The cafe, which serves a full English, cobs, paninis and chips, has long been a favourite with workers in the area, including labourers and engineers.
Alan Rainbow, 52, who was having lunch with his workmate Kenny White, 32, said: "It's wrong but it's happening everywhere at the moment. I've been coming in here on and off since it was Parker's."
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The air conditioning engineer, who often works at the Queen's Medical Centre opposite and the University of Nottingham, said there wasn't anything similar nearby as an alternative. "We'll have to go to Greggs or McDonalds," he said.
Luke Richards, 42, a caretaker at nearby NUAST (Nottingham University Academy of Science and Technology) is a regular, popping in two or three times a week for a chip cob. He said: "It's shocking that it's having to close. It's not cheap to come here but if they can't make a profit it says it all about the industry. I like the chip cobs because they're homemade, it's nice.
"It's a shame. We were hoping someone else might buy it and keep the cafe. We haven't really got anywhere we can go. There's Bargain Booze on the opposite side of the roundabout which is extortionate. It's all pre-packed sandwiches.
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"We've only really got Castle Marina and you'd have to drive there. I think a lot of people will miss it. I normally take a few orders from staff that are teaching, maybe 15 to 20 people from there use it."
Cafes, like chip shops, are plagued by the rising costs of supplies. A 20-litre container of cooking oil which used to be £11.99 has rocketed to £42.99 and baked beans have gone up from £9.99 to £14.99. The cafe's last day will be Thursday, June 30. The owner declined to comment.
At the end of May the chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, Martin McTague, said soaring costs have created a “ticking timebomb” for UK small business owners. He warned that almost 500,0000 firms were at risk of going bust within weeks without further government support.
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Talking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme he said figures from the Office for National Statistics showed 40 percent of the UK’s small businesses – 2m firms – had less than three months’ worth of cash to keep going. Of those two million, he said around 200,000 were in “serious trouble”, while a further 300,000 “have only got weeks left”.
The freehold of the property, which also includes a two-bed flat above, has gone up for sale for £300,000. The listing on Rightmove.co.uk describes it as having a prominent position in a "highly sought after location close to QMC and University of Nottingham."
The closure follows the announcement that Carriages Cafe in Newark has had to close after going into liquidation. Nottingham city centre bar Glasshouse has also shut for good due to the effects of the pandemic.
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