A much-loved cafe in the heart of Mumbles is closing its doors this weekend for the final time. Pippins has been running for five years and wrote on social media earlier today, Wednesday, November 23, to reveal the news that it will be shutting up shop for the final time on Saturday, November 26.
The Swansea dog-friendly cafe has been run and owned by Pippa Stone, 50, for the past four years - it would be five years in February - after she took over Coffee Den - a cafe she worked at - from its previous owners. But now, due to the rising cost of living, bills and financial repercussions following water damage some years ago, in which she had to fork out thousands, she is having to close Pippins.
Unveiling this news via social media, the cafe told its customers: "It is with great sadness that we have to announce that Pippins will be closing its doors for the last time on the 26th November. We would like to thank all our customers for your support over the last few years."
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The cafe's manager, Kim, explained the reasoning behind the cafe closure to WalesOnline, she said: "Payments just shot up, from our cakes to our kitchen supplies. It's just practically doubling in price. It's hang on since covid."
Kim continued: "We had water damage and everything, then we missed the entirety of the 'Eat Out to Help Out' and we just had no support whatsoever from that. So we've just been kind of spiralling a bit - but we've tried to bring it back. If we actually had some help, we would have had a better chance."
She added that having a number of building issues resulted in a "chain reaction of everything and then the price rises have just added."
Owner, Pip, said the closure of this staple Mumbles coffee shop stop is a decision that is "devastating beyond belief".
She explained: "We were doing okay, obviously, then Covid came along and then everyone was in trouble. It is devastating because I know that people use it as a hub. We have a lot of the elderly coming here because, you know, they just want someone to talk to, everyone comes in, they all know each other. We feed a few of them for free, that can't afford it every day, things like that. It's gonna be a big loss."
She added: "[In] Mumbles, you need a lot of money behind you to succeed and I'm not, I'm just a normal girl. I don't have a lot of money behind me it was just my little dream and do something for the community and we did it. I'm finding now, coming into winter, a lot of our regulars that are on their own are not going to come out. They won't come out the houses. Some of them have been coming here [and the Coffee Den] for like 19/20 years."
"It's really just so sad."
While Pippins' staff have a job secured when it does close on Saturday Pip tells us that she's not looking for another premises for the cafe immediately, nor does she have any plans of reopening in future, explaining how she thinks she'll move on from hospitality now, despite having been raised in the industry.
Alongside the staff being heartbroken by this news, manager Kim tells us the response from the customers who know and love Pippins has been the same: "Absolutely devastated," she says.
"It's a community cafe... I've got so attached to everybody because it's like when you comes to Mumbles, there's multiple cafes, but for me personally, there's nothing like we've got here. For me it's family. Everyone is like that little bit of family, that extended family I've made from working here.
"It's heartbreaking, it really is heartbreaking."
The news of the closure was met with a string of condolences, which read: "That is so sad...we love it there," wrote one customer. Another said: "Oh no we love Pippins we will miss you so much", while a third wrote: "So sad .. hope you guys are ok"
Pippins will close on Saturday, November 26. On its last day, it will be open for its usual hours.
For more information, see its facebook page.
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