Worcester couple shut vegan enterprise due to price of residing | EUROtoday

The homeowners of a well-liked vegan meals outlet say they’ve been left with no alternative however to shutter the enterprise due to the spiralling price of residing.

No Frickin Chicken began out in April 2021 as a meals truck visiting markets and festivals earlier than opening a diner in St John’s, Worcester, a yr later.

But, stated the married homeowners Paddy Kelly and Hana Hughes: “Food prices continue to soar, rent remains high, and the expenses of maintaining the trailer keep adding up.”

The authorities stated it was working to stabilise public funds and was “focused on creating opportunities for businesses”.

A variety of payments have risen or are as a consequence of rise in April, which embrace water, power, council tax and telecoms.

The minimal wage has additionally elevated from £11.44 an hour to £12.21and from Sunday, the quantity of National Insurance (NI) paid by employers will rise, too.

“It’s great that they’ve increased the minimum wage because people should be paid more, and food costs more,” stated Mr Kelly.

“But there should also, in my eyes, be some support for small businesses because they’re the ones that can’t absorb that as well.”

The couple stated tools breaking down, together with two vans – one in all which resulted in a £10,000 restore invoice – had contributed to the choice.

“Unfortunately, the rising costs of running an independent business have caught up with us,” they stated.

Mr Kelly added: “If everyone’s struggling for money, which they are with the cost of living crisis… I think it’s 5% of people in England who are vegan, so if everyone’s spending less, then there’s less money to go around.

“It’s going to be more durable for those who’re interesting to much less individuals.

“There definitely needs to be change from government. All sorts of businesses, whether they’re established or not, are just closing down all over the place.”

But Mr Kelly stated he anticipated the couple would seemingly have one other crack at working a enterprise sooner or later.

“We’ve had a lot of people reaching out with fantastic messages, people that have had our food at festivals or at our diner, and how much they’ve loved it. We feel like we’re a pretty good brand, and people love the name and love the food.

“And we’re actually grateful for all of the wonderful prospects and employees.”

A government spokesperson said: “We are a pro-business authorities, and we all know the very important significance of small companies to our economic system.

“We are now focused on creating opportunities for businesses to compete and access the finance they need to scale, export and break into new markets.”