Roger Mexico Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 41 minutes ago, The Bastard said: Perhaps best not to speculate on actual reasons for closure unless the owner puts out a press release. It does seem to be quite a challenging spot to run a cafe though - small number of covers, small local population, other cafes nearby, limited parking. The vegan-only menu will also put some more conservative cardigan people off. Except as pointed out they have put out a statement on Facebook which I'd better reproduce as people seem incapable of clicking on a link: All good things must come to an end, and Laxey Kitchen is no exception. It's with a heavy heart that I need to let you know that we've just closed our doors for the final time. We've had a blast! What started as a hobby food blog turned into something utterly beautiful. From delivering gorgeous vegan food and cakes to your doors during the lockdowns to getting the keys to our lovely café in Laxey village and turning what was a vintage butchers shop into a beautiful space for you all to enjoy. We've had parties, pop-up's and celebrations of all kinds and we've loved getting to know each and every one of you. Thank you for all of your love and support, it has meant the world to us and we're incredibly grateful. Opening a niche business in a tiny village, in a former butchers shop in the middle of a pandemic was always going to be a challenge but I think we smashed it! The days when we had a queue stretching out onto the square totally blew our minds!! Thank you to our amazing team of beautiful souls (past and present) who have helped us along this path, you're incredible and we will treasure the memories forever, we've laughed, A LOT!! And cried a bit too 😭 Thank you also to our fab local suppliers and our wonderful landlord for all of the kindness, support and amazing local products, but it's now time for us to bow out. With love and gratitude Lisa & Martin P.S all unused gift vouchers will be honoured by our other business, message us for details on how to claim 🙏 So they seem to feel the cafe was a success and have another business that they are continuing with. The business itself was described as an "Independent coffee shop, veggie/vegan café and bakery" so presumably milk, butter and so on would have been available and that would have made it acceptable to most cafe trade, unless you insist on raw meat for you afternoon tea. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kopek Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 It was a nice little restaurant with a different menu. The food was good and service friendly. It would have drawn it's customers to travel to it. So nothing to do with the size of Laxey or vegetarians. It is small so a decent turnover would always be a problem and might not have provided the profit for the two of them to share with a slight downturn in business and they seemed to bring in 'Family' help, which while 'cheap' would not be free! They were down to two days a week lately so maybe already have other jobs? It's a shame for them and another case of Use it or Lose it!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Phantom Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, Boo Gay'n said: People were travelling to it, me included. The proprietors and staff are lovely. That's why I think it is sad. The numbers of vegans and vegetarians remain small, relatively (see here), but are growing steadily. The food was good. The service (well timing) was awful. I think it took over an hour when I was there to essentially get an open sandwich. There also seemed to be about the same number of staff as customers. Surely the answer to a Vegan restaurant is to have an unlimited supply of bacon for the majority carnivores to sprinkle on their veggis? Edited October 10, 2022 by The Phantom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bastard Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 5 minutes ago, Roger Mexico said: Except as pointed out they have put out a statement on Facebook which I'd better reproduce as people seem incapable of clicking on a link: All good things must come to an end, and Laxey Kitchen is no exception. It's with a heavy heart that I need to let you know that we've just closed our doors for the final time. We've had a blast! What started as a hobby food blog turned into something utterly beautiful. From delivering gorgeous vegan food and cakes to your doors during the lockdowns to getting the keys to our lovely café in Laxey village and turning what was a vintage butchers shop into a beautiful space for you all to enjoy. We've had parties, pop-up's and celebrations of all kinds and we've loved getting to know each and every one of you. Thank you for all of your love and support, it has meant the world to us and we're incredibly grateful. Opening a niche business in a tiny village, in a former butchers shop in the middle of a pandemic was always going to be a challenge but I think we smashed it! The days when we had a queue stretching out onto the square totally blew our minds!! Thank you to our amazing team of beautiful souls (past and present) who have helped us along this path, you're incredible and we will treasure the memories forever, we've laughed, A LOT!! And cried a bit too 😭 Thank you also to our fab local suppliers and our wonderful landlord for all of the kindness, support and amazing local products, but it's now time for us to bow out. With love and gratitude Lisa & Martin P.S all unused gift vouchers will be honoured by our other business, message us for details on how to claim 🙏 So they seem to feel the cafe was a success and have another business that they are continuing with. The business itself was described as an "Independent coffee shop, veggie/vegan café and bakery" so presumably milk, butter and so on would have been available and that would have made it acceptable to most cafe trade, unless you insist on raw meat for you afternoon tea. Yeah, everyone was already capable of clicking on the link, and if you'd have actually read it yourself, it doesn't indicate the reasons for closure other than mentioning a couple of telling lines like "niche business in a tiny village". Do try and keep up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbnuts Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 Was in there a couple of times. Very nice ,well prepared but did take ages for food to arrive . Shame but to be honest am not really surprised . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Passing Time Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 2 hours ago, Gladys said: What would you like government to do? It can't influence world economics, and any financial support is from the public pot, potentially impacting other essential services. We can’t keep thinking that government is going to underwrite everything, it can't and shouldn't. When the certain members of government were contacted about reducing the rate of VAT on food they said they couldn't do anything. It's annoying to say the least that weeks later, certain parts of the construction industry got dropped to 5%. Not asking for a handout just a level playing field. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bastard Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 5 minutes ago, Passing Time said: When the certain members of government were contacted about reducing the rate of VAT on food they said they couldn't do anything. It's annoying to say the least that weeks later, certain parts of the construction industry got dropped to 5%. Not asking for a handout just a level playing field. You certainly have a bit of a complex about government. The playing field is level. All other hospitality businesses pay the same. Brickies don't sell sandwiches and cream teas during their lunch break. What generally puts businesses out of business is not a lack of Government support, but an inability to compete against other businesses in the area. The statistics say that the majority of small businesses will fail to compete against other businesses, even when they're all paying the same level of VAT. A tiny cafe serving niche food in an area with little parking and several other cafes, garages, food stores and takeaways next door will probably struggle whether or not they have a small decrease in VAT. A VAT decrease also doesn't suddenly mean more money going into the till - no matter what the industry, when it decreases, savvy competitors will use the opportunity to drop their prices to undercut the rest who don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleepyJoe Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 It used to be said that VAT rates couldn't be changed unless there was an EU variation arrangement/agreement in place elsewhere Presumably they can only now be varied in line with the Common Purse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Mexico Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 7 minutes ago, SleepyJoe said: It used to be said that VAT rates couldn't be changed unless there was an EU variation arrangement/agreement in place elsewhere Presumably they can only now be varied in line with the Common Purse Not quite. It can be done in agreement with the UK, so that something can have different VAT here, providing it isn't something that can be exported. That's why hotels here have long charged only 5% on bed and breakfast and there has also been only 5% on some building repairs (now being extended). The logic in the latter case is that there is zero-rate VAT on new builds, so this is to encourage repairs rather than replacement. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleepyJoe Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 So the certain members of government who were contacted about reducing the rate of VAT on food & said they couldn't do anything were not in fact correct? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Wright Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 9 minutes ago, SleepyJoe said: It used to be said that VAT rates couldn't be changed unless there was an EU variation arrangement/agreement in place elsewhere Presumably they can only now be varied in line with the Common Purse Don't think anyone has ever said that. It's not correct. Clearly being in an indirect consumption tax union with UK any variation has to be agreed with the UK. Brexit changed nothing in this case. in the EU VAT must be a minimum of 15% but there is a list of goods and services to which a lower rate can be applied ( minimum 5% ) so, before brexit certain hospitality services could be charged at 5% to 15% ( and commonly are across the EU ) with no "variation agreement" if they are on the list. UK won't agree to a variation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Wright Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 3 minutes ago, SleepyJoe said: So the certain members of government who were contacted about reducing the rate of VAT on food & said they couldn't do anything were not in fact correct? They can't. They were correct. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gizo Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 1 hour ago, The Bastard said: Yeah, everyone was already capable of clicking on the link, and if you'd have actually read it yourself, it doesn't indicate the reasons for closure other than mentioning a couple of telling lines like "niche business in a tiny village". Do try and keep up. And if you’d bothered to carry on reading the comments, the proprietor DOES indicate WHY she is closing the business. do try and keep up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Passing Time Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 42 minutes ago, The Bastard said: What generally puts businesses out of business is not a lack of Government support, but an inability to compete against other businesses in the area. The statistics say that the majority of small businesses will fail to compete against other businesses, even when they're all paying the same level of VAT. Did they have any other competition in the area? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kipper99 Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 4 minutes ago, Passing Time said: Did they have any other competition in the area? Is there competition for veggie and vegan food on island? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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