Why do we only open 2 or 3 days a week?

In short, nope! 

Believe me, we've tried. 

I'd love nothing more than to open those doors every morning, welcoming people into our homely space, but the truth of the matter is that since covid, people just cannot afford to eat out or enjoy a treat as much as we used to!

When I first opened the eatery, before the country came to a halt, we were open full time and I had an on-site manager to oversee everything. It wasn't long after we opened our doors for the first time that we were advised to lock down to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

We were told to stay at home to stay safe and to only leave the house for necessities. Baked goods, believe it or not, were not high on the agenda for people to risk going beyond the front door for. We adapted and changed as necessary in the moment, door stop drops became our thing, and we somehow scraped through... but eatery life since we were given the all clear to reopen and function as a normal business again just has not been the same. I don't think it ever will be. 

Since covid, every household has been hit with mass amounts of inflation for everyday items - groceries, bills, rent/mortgage... not only does this mean people don't have spare money for a sweet treat every now and then, it also means many are barely scraping by. We don't expect those all-important leftover pennies at the end of the month to come our way when people have bigger fish to fry. We decided to be sensible and have our opening hours reflect the economy. 

Initially, we did try opening full time again, but it simply didn't work... staff were being paid a days wage to sit in a shop that remained empty. That ping of the door opening didn't come around during the week most weeks, and we were losing copious amounts of money having to run machines, use electricity, and pay people to essentially mind the shop front. It didn't make sense for the business to continue in that way and, if we had, it wouldn't be long before we'd have no money left and would have to shut shop completely, forever. 

I didn't want that to happen. Compromise felt like the best option. I wanted to be open full time, I wanted the shop to be a hub where people gather... but people aren't gathering anymore? Covid taught us the ease of ordering online and having everything so readily available at our fingertips.

Months and months of being locked indoors unable to socialise made us all forget how to! For a year we took a hit of lost money to trial run different days and times to see what worked best - when we had the most custom, and therefore made the most sense to open. We came to find that our events are the most fruitful, most visited hours in the eatery and chose to focus on this route going forward - an example of how - one gluten free event evening made more money in the shop in one evening, than we had done in an entire week most weeks in general sales. 

From a business stand point, I had to make the most financially sensible option. I had to find a balance. 

So instead of opening full time, I decided on part time opening hours and more speciality events inviting more and more people through the doors - hence cheese and wine nights, medium nights, intimate live music performances, children's character afternoon tea and breakfasts, Santa visits, SEN session, Elf visits, you name it, we made it. 

From a personal stand point, this is not what I intended for the eatery when I envisioned my dream. I wanted that constant stream of people coming in, having a chat, getting to know you, learning your names ... I hoped for generational visits - imagine the joy of seeing a grown adult come into the shop with their own child, after years of visiting in their childhood with their mum or dad. It was the dream. It meant everything to me, it still does!

It just isn't viable right now with the way the world is working and that's okay. 

I've also learned along the way, after battling with so much internally and with home life, that there was something that had to give in order to make the business work for us as a family too. I was spending less and less time at home and more time in the factory and eatery. I was stressed, on high alert, always working, and never gave my own life any balance either. So I took the decision, after speaking to our wonderful staff, to make sure family life for everyone took priority.

That work/life balance is so, so important and I didn't want it just for myself I wanted it for the people who give their all in helping the business succeed every day. We have mandatory closing down time for weekends, holidays, special occasions.

Nobody is expected to work a holiday unless every person is willing to work it. We work to live now, we do not live to work. 

Maybe, someday, it'll change, but for now we are loving the experiences we get to share with you all and making those magical memories alongside you. 

You can see our opening days and times which are shared regularly and well in advance via our social media pages and website.