Over the next few weeks, restaurants and bars across Greater Manchester are gearing up for one of the busiest trading periods of the year.
Euro 2024 starts in a week. Then there’s Wimbledon and the Olympics to consider. Beer gardens will swell, beer and fizzy drinks will be consumed in abundance, and there will be a palpable buzz around town in the foreseeable future.
But right now, hospitality is struggling. We are used to restaurants and bars closing in the winter months, however to see so many people close their doors in recent weeks has been shocking to say the least.
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While a number of factors come into play — whether it’s the ongoing shocks of the pandemic, rising food, electricity and gas bills, or rising business rates and rents — the trend is unfazed.
Looking back at May, a staggering number of businesses bowed out. Every corner of Greater Manchester has lost a restaurant, bar or cafe.
The language around it was also sad. Owners reported that they had failed, fought hard, or felt there was no other way out.
South American restaurant Peru Perdu has closed in the city after five years, citing the Covid lockdown, rising costs of raw materials, heating and electricity, rising staff wages and general contractor costs and rent increases as just some of the reasons. It was a similar story for The Cheese Court in Urmston.
This week, Bernie’s Grocery and Canteen in Altrincham closed its doors. Its owners expressed what many others in the sector are feeling right now.
“It’s been a long slog against the tide we’ve weathered, adapted, agreed, changed, struggled and laughed along the way,” they wrote. When he added that a “terrible” Easter with an “unprecedented” reduction in trade and footfall meant the writing was on the wall.
“The last breath was near, the dream was over, the curtain was falling – in an increasingly competitive market with relentless obstacles that every business faces, it stopped.”
This week it was Trove’s turn. An award-winning bakery which started the sourdough phenomenon here in Manchester has announced it can no longer continue after going into liquidation and racking up debts of £1.6m. The owners said they failed by trying to “keep something going” when they “should have shut it down”.
Also this week, the team behind the cafe in Shaw said they were “also unable to continue”, closing the doors on a business that has become a vital lifeline for many in the community. And Grape N Grain in Littleborough, like Almost Famous a few weeks ago, begged customers to use them or lose them – saying they were “struggling big”.
If things weren’t hard enough, you also have the well-documented cases of dining and carousing. Last month, top chef Gary Usher was forced to call out customers who left without paying a £370 bill at one of his Manchester restaurants.
For those currently working in the hospitality industry, it must be relentless. But things keep opening up, and there’s a sad but inevitable movement in the industry—as one unit closes, another business is waiting in the wings to step in and give it a shot.
These openings should be celebrated, it speaks to the city’s resilience and ambition, but it raises several questions about the sustainability of the sector.
For more than four years, the hospitality industry has had to deal with the effects of the pandemic, the cost of living crisis and rising wages. No wonder so many should shut down considering the odds were stacked against them.
While government support during the pandemic has kept some afloat, calls for VAT cuts that have gained momentum over the past 12 months have fallen on deaf ears. Then there are the rising rents and unsustainable business rates that are forcing even the most successful businesses to close shop.
It’s never been easy running a restaurant or bar, it’s a tough deal with long hours, slim margins and uncertain consumer habits that will endure. Given the current landscape, it’s easy to see why so many people have no choice but to call it a day.
Bigger issues need to be addressed as well. Some are not comfortable asking questions or confronting.
UK prices rose by 2.3% in the year to April 2024. That’s the lowest rate since September 2021, but still above the Bank of England’s 2% inflation target – and consumers are still feeling the squeeze.
In fact, many cannot afford to eat out regularly. And at the same time, restaurants and bars can’t afford to lower their prices – there’s no real winner here. For many, dining is reserved for special occasions rather than everyday events.
It’s not just about eating out. Getting to the city center can be time consuming and expensive. Not only public transport, but also the price of parking should be considered.
Then there is the question of our night time economy. Although we have one of the most vibrant and enviable nightlife scenes in the UK, we are not a 24-hour city. Just look at the closing times, licensing hours and transport links to see how we’re not set up as a town to eat, drink or party until dawn.
And it’s not just about night time. A staggering number of pubs have cut their hours and days in a fight to survive as they struggle to stay afloat as the cost of living crisis continues.
Rising energy costs are forcing pubs to close earlier than usual or stop serving food. While the increase in the minimum wage is welcomed by many who run pubs, restaurants and bars who want to pay their employees fairly, it also creates an additional financial burden on SMEs, resulting in some employees having to leave their jobs to find a more stable income.
This raises the question of the sustainability of the restaurant and bar industry. Manchester has long been a city built on historic pubs, but in recent years there has been an influx of new food concepts attracting attention and recognition beyond the region – but have we potentially reached saturation point? sustainable growth when there is a lack of government support and ongoing operational problems?
This summer will see the beer gardens full, whether the home nations shine at the Euros or the Olympics, but the reality for restaurants and bars across Greater Manchester is that the situation is still uncertain. The summer months may cheer us up, but once they’re gone, the issues affecting the industry will most likely still linger.