The Harrogate Tea Rooms in Westminster Arcade has closed with immediate effect.
Owners Carrie and Tony Wilkinson, who have run the business for 13 years, announced the news “with heavy hearts” on social media last night.
They said the day-to-day running costs were not translating into profit.
Their post said:
“We are as sad and shocked as some of you will be.
“Our tenancy with the new landlord was up for renewal, but with increased rent, energy and food costs, lower than ever footfall, our out-of-the-way location and possibly the ever increasing amount of new coffee shops near us, it has forced our decision to unfortunately not be able to move forward with the business.
“It is truly a challenging time for many small businesses.
“We have a massively supportive team of thousands of followers but it is the day to day running costs and effort that is just not translating into profit.
“Obviously that is not sustainable, so we have had to take the decision to walk away.”
They added they tried to sell the business “but there is currently no market for the many local tea rooms/cafes up for sale”.
The post thanked customers and added they will continue to make scones for delivery.
The Harrogate Tea Rooms was featured in The Harrogate Crime Series by Malcolm Hollingdrake.
Mr and Ms Wilkinson said DCI Cyril Bennett, one of the main characters, will live “in our hearts and memories”, and ‘will forever be drinking tea from a China cup”.
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Bettys celebrates new Railway Children movie with steam train display
Bettys Café Tea Rooms in Harrogate has created a new window display celebrating the release of The Railway Children Return movie.
The front window features a biscuit version of the steam train featured in the film, hand-decorated at Bettys Craft Bakery.
As the sequel to one of the most beloved family films of all time, The Railway Children Return stars some of the original cast and is described as “an adventure for a new generation”.
Like the original film, it is set in West Yorkshire with scenes shot in and around the countryside of the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway .
The movie is currently playing in cinemas and has received generally favourable reviews with the Guardian concluding it’s “an amiable and ingenious tribute to the innocent, good-natured spirit of the original”.
In partnership with the film, Bettys has created a limited-edition gift box, filled with a selection of treats.
Bettys’ waitress Rose Seddon with the limited edition gift boxes
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