These Shropshire businesses have decided to call it a day - and the owners all said the same thing

In 2023, at least 2,240 restaurants around the country shut their doors. In the first half of the year, pubs were closing at a rate of around 30 a week.

In May last year, Phil and Debra Wright decided to close The Baron of Beef - also known as the Baron at Bucknell - after 16 years of service.

The couple told planners at Shropshire Council that due to the combined effects of Brexit, Covid-19 and the cost-of-living crisis, the country inn and hotel in Chapel Lawn Road was no longer viable as a business.

"Hospitality has had a very challenging few years," the pair said. "Firstly, the effects of Brexit, making staff recruitment much more difficult, then Covid and three lockdowns and most recently the cost of living crisis. These have had a huge impact on the sector."

Two months later, Lisa Baker, owner of the Deli 45 café in Newport, told us that a "never-ending" list of obstacles, including high energy bills and the cost of ingredients, had forced her to close up too.

"It has been a hard decision but under the current cost of living crisis, I cannot carry on any longer," she said. "Everything is just so expensive – the energy you use, the ingredients you need.

"Gas and electric has been more than my rent every month and with VAT and other things, it's never-ending. It comes to a point where it's like robbing Peter to pay Paul.

"Some weeks you can't afford to pay yourself a wage and so it has come to the point where enough is enough."

While fish and chips could have once been crowned our national dish, the owner of one chippy in Newport claimed changing tastes meant fish and chips was no longer the 'go-to' takeaway for families.

But costs, of course, was a huge factor in the decision for Zach Yiacoumis to close the door on Zach's Plaice which he'd run for more than two decades.

Back in January, the 74-year-old said: "The other thing I think is the price, I think it makes a difference. The fish prices go really high, but I don't want to put it up too much. I try to keep the prices down because people nowadays, people can't afford to be buying twice a week."

That same month, the owner of the award-winning Townhouse in Market Drayton said the rising costs had forced the closure of the restaurant.

Daniel Derrington said: "The problem has not been getting people through the door, it is the spend per head. People just don't have the disposable income they once had.

"We have noticed that people were buying the cheaper dishes and instead of buying a bottle of wine, buying a glass.

"While the spend has dropped, costs have only got higher. They are astronomical now. We were spending £80 a day on gas and electric - we used to pay that a month.

"Paying 20 per cent VAT on restaurants is also a joke. We can't compete with supermarkets. And business rates are eye-watering."

And hospitality businesses were not the only ones taking a hit.

Cowlick Hair and Beauty at Frankwell in Shrewsbury shut its doors after ten-and-a-half years in February.

The parlour was set up by Nikki Cooke, who said small businesses seemed to have "taken the brunt" of inflation and tax-related increases over the last few years.

She said: "It started after Covid, impacting the way we traded, with constant rises in utility and supplier costs and spiralling insurance.

"I have been fortunate to have a good landlord who understands the pressures on us small traders so have avoided any major rent increases but the coming minimum wage rise and constant regulatory changes are just too much. I have not drawn a wage for the last six months and just can’t go on.

"The industry works on very small margins. After deducting raw materials and overheads, it is barely a minimum wage but our clients have been understanding with price increases required and come to us because of the quality of our service."

That same month, just over the border in Wales, Duncan Borthwick, decided to close the doors at Llanymynech Village Shop. He told the Shropshire Star the cost of living crisis saw his takings drop by around £10,000 a month.

"We are outcompeted by the supermarkets at every turn and I can’t come near their prices in the slightest," he said.

"People are struggling to the extent that they choose between heating their homes and eating."