The cost of living crisis, increased energy bills and spiralling inflation are forcing an award-winning Ripon cafe to close its doors in a month’s time.
Caffe Tempo, based at The Arcade since the summer of 2017, has won the Restaurant Guru Best Coffeehouse in Ripon title for six consecutive years, along with Tripadvisor awards last year and in 2020.
But it said numerous financial challenges outside of its control have made the business unviable.
Owner Tina Whincup (pictured above) told the Stray Ferret:
“Our annual turnover has grown to around £220,000, but we haven’t been able to make a profit because all of our bills have gone up.”
Office for National Statistics figures released this week showed year-on-year inflation remaining at 8.7%, but Ms Whincup said:
“The reality is that many of the raw products that we use for the items that we bake, have increased between 100% and 300%.
“To transfer this to the items that we sell makes them so expensive that they go from every day purchases made by our customers, to a once in a while treat.”
She added:
“Although we have remained busy every day, the average spend per person has reduced significantly and it is with great sadness that we are calling time on Caffe Tempo. Our last day of trading will Saturday July 22.
“This has not been an easy decision for us, but unfortunately the challenges the hospitality industry has faced and continued to face have reached the point of no return.
“Our industry has had the worst three years in modern history, with two years of on-off closures, a cost of living crisis and also a shortage of staff.
“When we add in the increase in minimum wage, energy costs at over £900 per month, which could increase to £1,800 per month, when our current contract comes to an end, we find ourselves in a situation that is no longer viable.”
Staffing shortages have seen Ms Whincup working 70 hour weeks since the years of covid closures to keep the business going, but she is now looking elsewhere for employment, along with her two members of staff, including her daughter Elise.
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Leisure facilities closed at Knaresborough’s Conyngham Hall
Leisure facilities at Conyngham Hall in Knaresborough have closed due to staff shortages.
The hall grounds are popular with families, offering a refreshment hut, two tennis courts, pitch and putt, a putting green and crazy golf.
But Harrogate Borough Council, which maintains the eighteenth century hall and grounds, is currently unable to staff the facilities.
A council spokesperson said:
“Unfortunately, due to staff shortages the refreshment hut at Conyngham Hall is currently closed.
“Due to this closure we are unable to provide refreshments, tennis and golf facilities.
“We are advertising for a games attendant and hope to resolve the situation as soon as we can.
“In the interim, the tennis courts will be open should anyone wish to play.
“We’d like to apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.”
James Monaghan at Conyngham Hall
Knaresborough resident James Monaghan, who often visits the grounds with his family, said many of the facilities had been kept open during covid and it was disappointing they weren’t available now. He added:
“But it is a good result if they are prepared to unlock the tennis courts in the meantime and it would be even better if they put the flags back on the golf course too.”
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Golf at Conyngham Hall
The chief of Harrogate District Hospital has warned problems in the care sector are making it “really difficult” to discharge patients who are well enough to leave.
Official figures show the number of patients who have been in the hospital for more than 21 days has almost doubled from 48 in April 2021 to 83 last month.
Jonathan Coulter, acting chief executive of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, told a board meeting today a shortage of care home beds and staff were causing the delays to discharging some patients.
He said the continued impact of covid was also having an impact:
“There are capacity constraints all the way through the system, from being able to staff care homes effectively and appropriately through to social care packages.
“All of these things mean people are not leaving hospital even though it is a less safe place for them to be.”
Mr Coulter also said the delays were causing problems for the flow of patients through the hospital from arrivals to discharges.
Harrogate District Hospital
He explained the hospital was working with the care sector to tackle the delays and that other internal action was being taken, including a week-long event to speed up the system.
He added the hospital was continuing to recruit new staff and had committed funding to improve its emergency department:
“The whole pathway is under pressure. It is challenging… but we have got a plan and are sticking with it. The important thing is that we don’t tolerate or normalise where we are at the moment.
“It is also really important that we tackle the improvement work in a really positive spirit.”
Mr Coulter said the pressures across the health and care system were still being exacerbated by covid, although the position was “much improved” from earlier in the pandemic.
He also said the reduction of the covid alert level from level four to three last week marked a “massively important step” for the NHS.
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Harrogate hospital currently has 15 covid patients, while staff absences as a result of the virus have dropped from over 200 earlier this year to the current position of around 70.
Meanwhile, the district’s weekly infection rate currently stands at 93 covid cases per 100,000 people – its lowest level since at least last September.