‘It’s not worth the heartache’: the independent cafes closing down under cost pressures

When it came down to it, Rebecca Feely’s decision to close her Kale + Coco vegan cafe in Stoneybatter on Dublin’s northside last month was a question of self-preservation.

“It’s tough, because I love the brand,” she says, speaking to The Irish Times in the days leading up to the cafe’s closure. “I love what we’ve built here. I really still believe in it. And you know, I’ve had a full week of customers coming in telling me how heartbroken they are.

“I hate to be another small business closing down. I hate to be another vegan business closing down.”

But Ms Feely says that the current economic climate meant that running an independent cafe was extremely stressful, and ultimately, financially untenable.

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She is not the only cafe owner to shut up shop in recent months. According to figures compiled by the Restaurant Association of Ireland, 228 food-led hospitality business have closed since July.

Rebecca Feely worked with her business partner Jenny Hughes, and Kale + Coco opened first as a pop-up store in 2017. ‘We were 24, 25 at the time. It was very exciting’

Kale + Coco grew out of months spent travelling around the globe, enjoying plant-based dishes in a variety of locations, including New York and Melbourne.

Back in Dublin, Ms Feely found a city experimenting. “I think at the time, the health food scene was really just starting to take off in Dublin,” Ms Feely says.

She worked with her business partner Jenny Hughes, and Kale + Coco opened first as a pop-up store in 2017. “We were 24, 25 at the time. It was very exciting.”

Two years later, they found a brick-and-mortar home for their venture in Stoneybatter on Dublin’s northside. In the Kale + Coco cafe, Ms Feely grew a customer base.

“I think the timing of it was just a little bit unfortunate, with everything that’s happened after that,” she says.

Tea Junction cafe

Sharon Banahan’s The Tea Junction cafe in Ballymoe, Co Galway, was open less than half a year when the Covid-19 pandemic shuttered businesses up and down the country.

But she adapted. Her partner installed a takeaway hatch at the cafe, with punters driving from all around to grab a coffee while restrictions prohibited indoor dining.

“Covid helped me get my name out there,” Ms Banahan says. “People were travelling, because they knew they could come and get a coffee and a treat or a coffee and a sandwich or whatever.”

‘What happened since is that the Covid supports ended, but then we were hit with the impacts of the war [in Ukraine] and electricity prices skyrocketing, and the cost of living crisis’

—  Sharon Banahan, founder of The Tea Junction cafe

Dealing with the uncertainty of the pandemic was stressful, says Ms Feely, but businesses enjoyed a solid level of governmental support at the time.

After those supports dried up, the barriers to running a small cafe accumulated.

“What happened since is that the Covid supports ended, but then we were hit with the impacts of the war [in Ukraine] and electricity prices skyrocketing, and the cost of living crisis, which has increased costs consistently. And there’s really been no support whatsoever for businesses during that period, and I’d argue it’s nearly been more difficult the last couple years than it was during Covid,” Ms Feely explains.

[ Soaring costs behind sharp increase in Irish businesses closing in 2023 ]

Ms Banahan echoes Ms Feely’s experience. “I couldn’t keep up with it,” she says.

Over the years, she was able to grow her customer base, but her overheads grew too, with VAT receipts and electricity the biggest drain on her financial resources. In a rural area such as Ballymoe, there was always going to be a limit to the amount of customers she could attract to the cafe.

“I just always felt like I was chasing my tail. You’re constantly trying to battle against it,” Ms Banahan says. “It’s not worth the heartache.” Ms Banahan ultimately decided to close the Ballymoe cafe on November 25th.

Dora-May’s Cafe

After six years in business, Dora-May Cousins’ decision to close her eponymous cafe in Newbridge, Co Kildare, came in September, when she was landed with a €4,500 electricity bill. Hers is one of several eateries to close in the town in recent weeks.

‘I’m not the kind of person who gets down in the dumps, but I am now. It’s just painful... it’s mentally painful’

—  Dora-May Cousins

Ms Cousins voices regret about laying off her staff just before the Christmas period. “A lot of them are with me a long time,” she says.

It wasn’t an easy choice. “I’m not the kind of person who gets down in the dumps, but I am now,” she says. “It’s just painful... it’s mentally painful.”

[ Mood music on Irish economy suggests more shops could close in early 2024 ]

Along with staggering electricity bills and steep county council rates, the cost of ingredients and groceries ultimately dictated the decision to close.

“There was a time – not too long ago – when a bucket of mayonnaise was €21. Now, it’s €38,” Ms Cousins says.

“That’s just one example – everything has shot up.” Eggs, gravy powder, sausages – most goods have almost doubled.

Closing down

After toying with the idea for nearly two years, Kale + Coco closed its doors in mid-December. In the end, the stresses of being an independent business owner in the current climate were unsustainable.

“Business models that worked 10 years just don’t work in this economy the way they did,” Ms Feely says. “It’s not enough to just be a cafe. You have to be a cafe with an online store, a delivery service, a click-and-collect service, you’ve to be making your own jam or hot sauce and putting it on the shelves, and then trying to get other people to put it on their shelves.”

“I had about eight different streams of revenue, and only one of those is people walking into the shop ... It’s actually a huge amount of work that goes into running those kind of businesses.

Ms Feely is at a stage in her life where she might like to apply for a mortgage – but right now, that isn’t possible. “I can’t do that – I’m self-employed, essentially. I haven’t built up savings the way I might have if I stayed in corporate jobs.”

It was only after she closed her cafe that Ms Banahan realised the stress she was under, trying to keep her business afloat. “The last few months, I wasn’t sleeping, my head was all over the place.”

Making the decision to close the cafe and move to a order-based catering model felt like a weigh off the shoulders.

Ms Cousins, similarly, has shifted her business model to a catering service.

For those cafes and restaurants still struggling on, the year ahead looks ominous. “The sentiment among the industry coming into next year is bleak and stressful,” Ms Feely says.

A €1.40 raise in the minimum wage, slated for introduction on January 1st, is cited by a number of cafe owners as a significant challenge in the pipeline. “It just wouldn’t be viable for a small business like mine,” Ms Cousins says.

“Sometimes I feel like it’s a bit unfair that small businesses have the same rules as bigger businesses,” Ms Banahan says, in reference to the hike in wages.

Ms Feely isn’t ruling out a return to the hospitality industry – but for now, her own wellbeing comes first.

“I think at some point, you kind of have to decide, you know, if you’re working this many hours, and you’re taking on this much stress, and you don’t get to switch off or take a holiday when you need to, is that worth, you know, the little financial reward you might be getting?”

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