Young parents who run a popular tapas restaurant say they are fighting for their business' survival after being hit with an eye-watering bill increase of more than £6,000 a month. Campo Blanco in Whitefield has seen their bills soar to between £8,000-£10,000 a month - leading them to reduce their opening hours.
The Moss Lane restaurant had recently rolled out a new brunch menu which will now be stopped so the owners can reduce their running costs. This is a third setback for a four-year-old business that has fought through the coronavirus lockdown and increased import costs due to Brexit.
“We were just so shocked when we saw it [the energy bill quote],” co-owner Aaron Cummins said.
“It is just shocking, it is unbelievable. We knew there was an issue but we thought it wouldn’t be as dramatic as this.
“We are feeling the full brunt of these extra prices. By eliminating brunch - which we spend three months building up - we can save 20 hours of energy bills a week and that can hopefully get us through this.
“We are doing everything we can to survive. We are trying our best to support locals and keep everyone and the local economy going.”
The 30-year-old explained that he and wife Faye, 30, also co-owner, came to the end of their contract and had no way of changing providers due to the energy crisis, which has left many businesses 'at risk’. The tapas restaurant is more expensive to run due to the high number of dishes they produce already, which Aaron believes is why their bills will skyrocket in the coming months.
Aaron was left questioning whether the business was still viable after seeing the new bills quoted and says he was seriously considering shutting up shop for good. With a mortgage plus a seven-month-old and two-year-old baby at home, though, the couple said ‘this has to work’.
“We need to make sure the business stays open for our livelihood,” he continued. “We care about our staff and our family.
“We just hope everyone can understand this. We are really grateful to have made it through the pandemic and the customers supporting us.”
The pair are all too aware that costs are rising for their customers as well, so didn’t want to raise prices to cover costs - which is why the decision to scrap the brunch time openings was made.
Aaron hopes the newly installed Prime Minister Liz Truss can make good on her promise to deal with the energy crisis this week. He says it is not just his business that is struggling and that there is real fear more restaurants could start to feel the crunch in the coming months.
Camp Blanco will now be open from Wednesday and Thursday from 4pm and Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 12pm (midday). This excludes Wednesday, September 7 as bookings were already made and couldn’t be changed.
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