All based in a small town in Wiltshire, three independent cafés spoke on the support that they have received from the community, during the pandemic.
The hospitality industry has been one of the most impacted industries due to COVID-19. From the start of the pandemic, there has been uncertainty surrounding the future of businesses, from being completely shut in Spring to completely full during the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme.
Cllr Robert Merrick (Mayor of Calne), owner of Farmhouse Café, Bakery and Deli, actually made the decision – before lockdown was nationally implemented in March – to close the café. He felt that morally, he could not stay open, with the knowledge that he could be contributing to the spread of the virus. But shutting for such a prolonged period of time did raise concerns as “we didn’t know whether people would come back.”
The fear of being forgotten was also a key concern for Tess Ryan, owner of Sampaguita Café, who made the decision to offer a takeaway service, despite not making any profit off of these sales. She said that she was “afraid that my customers will forget that we exist” and that offering this service was a way to ensure this did not happen.
Over the course of the year, there is no doubt that a community of support has been established. Fay Stallan, owner of Fay’s Bistro, said that what stood out to her the most was that, even after all the initial uncertainty and worry about loss of customers, “we still had our regular customers coming out in droves to support us.” Fay believes that without this support, the bistro “would not survive.”
This support has been invaluable to local businesses and Cllr Robert Merrick recognised this and launched the “Shop Local” campaign to help everyone in the town. From this campaign, he observed that more customers than before were coming forward and supporting local businesses in the community, as they did not feel supporting chains was the right way forward.
In the summer, the Eat Out to Help Out scheme was launched, however small cafés – such as Sampaguita – struggled to keep up with the demands that this entailed. Cllr Robert Merrick also said that, because cafés were having to understand and implement COVID-19 procedures whilst dealing with waves of customers, “it was a little too soon.” Despite this, it was a boost of business and for Fay’s Bistro in particular, they found that scheme was a “huge benefit,” especially after losing so much money due to being shut.
In addition to support being shown to these local cafes, Tess went one step further to offer children free school lunches during the October half-term. She said that she would not be “running out of business by feeding a few children” and that her upbringing showed her what it was like to be poor and hungry. In turn, just as the community had supported her, she supported the community.
As for the future of eating habits, the owners seemed to be in agreement that cafés will see an uptake in business. As restrictions ease, it is hoped that local cafés will continue to be supported and Fay predicted that the pandemic has made “people realise how important going out is for mental health and will do it more.”
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