The jubilee weekend may have been one of celebrations for communities but it was a mixed picture for businesses in Harrogate town centre.
The Harrogate Tea Rooms in the Westminster Arcade was among those to say the jubilee did not prove to be a recipe for success as it had its worst ever Saturday, after 10 years in business.
Tony Wilkinson, who owns the business with his wife Carrie, told the Stray Ferret:
“We had a good Friday and the Thursday was OK too. But Saturday was 70% lower than normal.
“We did open on Sunday, which we don’t usually, but it was very quiet.”
Despite support from customers on social media, even the celebratory high tea menu was not enough to draw patrons away from events elsewhere.
Not sure about where all the events were, but for us that was our worst Saturday EVER!!!
— The Harrogate Tea Rooms (@HarrogateTeaRms) June 5, 2022
Around the corner at Baltzersen’s on Oxford Street, Saturday and Sunday also proved to be quiet. However, owner Paul Rawlinson was philosophical:
“We’ve served a lot of guests and hopefully delivered a positive experience for everyone that chose to visit us. We appreciate the ongoing support of families in Harrogate and Wetherby.
“In terms of the business, we saw a hugely increased demand on Thursday and Friday but recorded quietest weekend days of the last six months over the weekend.
“Weather will have been a factor and the end of the school half-term holidays can often lead to a quieter weekends too. The differences largely cancelled each other out so in many ways it was business as usual.”
Read more:
- How the Harrogate district celebrated the jubilee
- Jubilee boom for independent shops in Harrogate district
At food retailer Cook on West Park, trade was also slow across the weekend. However, shop leader Mike Jarvis said the previous few days had been extremely busy as people stocked up ready for the bank holiday.
“We had such a big surge from Monday to Wednesday. Home deliveries were up for us too.
“We do a lot of buffet food and we had coronation chicken and Eton mess parfait – all good things for street parties.”
Working across the company’s shops in Harrogate and Moortown, Mr Jarvis said the picture was similar, as it was at Cook branches around the country.
Harry Gration opens the Little Bird Artisan Market for the Queen’s platinum jubilee in Harrogate’s Valley Gardens
Among those who did very well during the jubilee weekend itself were the traders at Little Bird Artisan Markets, which had events in Knaresborough and in Harrogate’s Valley Gardens. Managing director Jackie Crozier said:
“We are absolutely delighted with how the platinum jubilee celebrations have gone over the weekend. We have delivered seven events over four days including Knaresborough and, of course, Harrogate for three days.
“I have lost count of the amount of traders who have said they have had their best trading day ever.
“This weekend was just what the country needed and especially our artisan traders. It was so wonderful to be part of so many events working alongside local councils.
“As we have our regular artisan market on the first Sunday of the month in Valley Gardens, it was great to see so many of our regular customers returning.”
The weekend was also a success for the Harrogate Bus Company. Partnering with Harrogate BID, it offered free travel on its electric services between the town centre and Jennyfield, Harlow Hill and Bilton.
Managing director Alex Hornby tweeted that passenger numbers were significantly up on previous comparable dates.
⚡️ Amazing news following a busy #PlatinumJubilee in Harrogate: our #JubileeFreeway of free buses on #HarrogateElectrics saw:
⬆️ Thu +25% more customers than May Day
⬆️ Fri +51% v May Day
⬆️ Sat +60% above average of last three Sats
⬆️ Sun +34% above average of last three Suns pic.twitter.com/GGpzk6umGc— Alex Hornby (@alextransdev) June 6, 2022
Matthew Chapman, manager of Harrogate BID which also helped to organise the Jubilee Square events on Montpellier Hill, said:
“I was in town every day of the celebrations and there were certainly plenty of people around.
“Each of four days of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations saw thousands of people visit Jubilee Square.
“We deliberately didn’t have any food and drink concessions at Jubilee Square, as we hoped those coming to it would go into town either before, or after, and patronise our pubs, bars and restaurants – which they did!
“The ‘Jubilee Freeway’ brought passengers travelling on electric buses into town for free on Thursday through to Sunday, and the numbers riding these buses was significantly more than for previous bank holidays and the last three weekends.
“We also had street entertainers on three of the four days, which were very well receive, and again gave people another reason to come into town.”
