Closing Norfolk restaurant warns it's getting even harder for hospitality
'The Bridge' in Wroxham is closing, citing cost of living pressures, rising energy bills and staff shortages
A man in charge of a closing restaurant in Norfolk is telling us it's difficult and getting even harder for independent hospitality businesses.
'The Bridge' in Wroxham is closing on Sunday - citing cost of living pressures, rising energy bills and staff shortages.
"This year I've had to raise prices three times"
Laszlo Zupan has been running the business since 2019:
"We didn't really raise prices for two years. But this year I've had to raise prices three times just so I could pay my staff.
"I have more than 20 years of experience, but this is the first restaurant that I've been running myself. When I first took over I told the owner that you should only start a restaurant if you want to be a millionaire, but first, you've got to start off as a billionaire.
"Two weeks ago a friend of mine closed down his restaurant after 35 years of trading. He said that last year he didn't make any money.
"His energy contract is running out in September and he didn't want to see what's coming. He was smarter than us."
"More Government support towards energy bills would have been helpful"
Laszlo told us what might have helped him keep the restaurant open: "More Government support towards energy bills would have been helpful - but I don't know if it would have been sufficient. It used to be 5% of our revenue, then it increased to 15% and from that it's just been increasing.
"After we received our last bill, we looked for another supplier. When they gave us the new contract they predicted that next year's total cost would be almost as much as we paid last month."
What support is available for businesses?
The Government says the Energy Bills Discount Scheme can provide help to non-domestic customers.