A HOSPITALITY business at Beaumont has cut down its opening hours to stay afloat following increases in running costs.
Golf shop and café Green Goose Jersey, located in the Pavillions development on Route de Beaumont, announced yesterday that it would be closing on Mondays and Tuesdays from next week – and increasing its menu prices due to “continually rising costs”.
In the same week, Nude Food, which ran two restaurants in the west of the Island, ceased trading and Rojo bar and nightclub announced that it would be closing in the new year.
Nicola Mollin, director of Green Goose Jersey, said: “The pressures have been increasing over the last few months, and every single thing we order has steadily gone up in price, whether that’s milk, coffee, electricity.”
Jersey Electricity announced earlier this year that its prices would rise by 12% from 1 January 2024 to “keep pace with rising costs due to the volatility of international energy prices”, while the Island’s overall inflation rate was 10.1% during the 12 months to September.
Mrs Mollin continued: “We tried to keep costs down as much as possible, but it’s got to the point where it’s not feasible for us to keep our menu prices the same. Those will have to change, and we hope our customers understand.
“Opening times and menu prices are something you have to continually review, and it has got to the point where if we didn’t make some changes, we would have to have a different conversation, like the owners of Nude Food had to have.”
Even though Green Goose opened as the lockdowns drew to a close, the business has not escaped the impact of the Covid pandemic and the resulting hike in day-to-day living costs.
She added: “We understand that people are struggling, people have less money due to the cost-of-living crisis, people aren’t going out and socialising as much.
“It is difficult, but these are the measures we have had to take to stay open.”
The owners of Nude Beach and Nude Dunes this week said that they had done “everything we can” to continue to try to keep their business running.
Meanwhile, Marcus Calvani, co-chair of the Jersey Hospitality Association, said the Island was at a time of “sky-rocketing costs for hospitality and challenges with recruitment, shipping and staff accommodation” and said he was “very worried about what’s round the corner”.
