SHUTTERS DOWN
‘Best tea room ever’ SHUTS after 159 years as fans left devastated by loss of ‘gem’ with ‘amazing charm’
Fans say the lovely room will be 'missed'
CUPPA fans have been left devastated after "the best tea room ever" pulled down the shutters after 159 years.
Botham's of Whitby has announced they will close their beloved tea room at the Skinner Street site for the "foreseeable future".
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Staff from the venue said the place is set to undergo "essential and extensive building work" - and will close on Saturday, November 2.
The Botham family, who opened the Whitby in 1865, said: "On Saturday 2 November 2024, the upstairs Tea Room at Skinner Street will close for the foreseeable future.
"This is due to essential and extensive building work on our former Skinner Street bakehouse located behind and above the upstairs Tea Rooms.
"We have made the difficult decision to close to prioritise staff and customer safety during the renovations.
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"At this point, we would like to express our thanks to our tea room staff for their help and understanding during this process."
Fans of the tea room were left devasted after hearing the news of the shocking closure.
One person said: "The best tea room ever. It has a really unique ambience and the food and service are beyond excellent."
While another wrote: "It needs to reopen. It's my favourite tea room, has an amazing charm. Close for the works of course, but please let it reopen. "
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A third person added: "This lovely tea room will be sadly missed."
Meanwhile, another much-loved tea room was forced to close having been in business for 34 “happy and successful” years.
The family-run Two Hoots Tea Room is situated in one of Wales’ most-visited tourist spots and they say they are devastated after they were ordered to pull down the shutters for good.
The owners of the café at Devil’s Bridge, Aberystwyth, have been given a closure notice by the Vale of Rheidol Railway as it plans to start work regenerating Devi’s Bridge Station.
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The popular station is home to world-famous bridges and waterfalls with thousands of visitors every year.
As part of the regeneration work, new toilets are planned and recreating sites which pay homage to the area’s industrial history.
Plans also include building an engine shed replicating the structure present in the early 20th century as well as the recreation of the old timber yard.
Companies close stores here and there for a number of reasons, like falling shopper numbers or that an area is being redeveloped.
Sometimes the landlord who owns the building may decide not to renew the lease on the property.
Why are retailers closing stores?
RETAILERS have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis.
High energy costs and a move to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
The high street has seen a whole raft of closures over the past year, and more are coming.
The number of jobs lost in British retail dropped last year, but 120,000 people still lost their employment, figures have suggested.
Figures from the Centre for Retail Research revealed that 10,494 shops closed for the last time during 2023, and 119,405 jobs were lost in the sector.
It was fewer shops than had been lost for several years, and a reduction from 151,641 jobs lost in 2022.
The centre's director, Professor Joshua Bamfield, said the improvement is "less bad" than good.
Although there were some big-name losses from the high street, including Wilko, many large companies had already gone bust before 2022, the centre said, such as Topshop owner Arcadia, Jessops and Debenhams.
"The cost-of-living crisis, inflation and increases in interest rates have led many consumers to tighten their belts, reducing retail spend," Prof Bamfield said.
"Retailers themselves have suffered increasing energy and occupancy costs, staff shortages and falling demand that have made rebuilding profits after extensive store closures during the pandemic exceptionally difficult."
Alongside Wilko, which employed around 12,000 people when it collapsed, 2023's biggest failures included Paperchase, Cath Kidston, Planet Organic and Tile Giant.
The Centre for Retail Research said most stores were closed because companies were trying to reorganise and cut costs rather than the business failing.
However, experts have warned there will likely be more failures this year as consumers keep their belts tight and borrowing costs soar for businesses.
The Body Shop and Ted Baker are the biggest names to have already collapsed into administration this year.
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