Back Our Businesses: ‘If you don’t support us, you will lose us,’ says Northampton bakery as bills rocket to £3,000

The owner of a much-loved Northampton bakery has said “if you don’t support us, you will lose us”, as the bills have skyrocketed to £3,000 a month.

Duston Village Bakery, which first opened in Main Road in 2012, has been hit hard by the cost of living crisis. Owner Jenni Smith recently saw the bills soar to £4,500 per month and after finding a new provider, this has only gone down to £3,000 – which is triple what the bakery used to pay. But for Jenni this is not just about her business, but her house too. With her mortgage attached to the business, which first enabled her to open, if the bakery goes down her house will also suffer the consequences.

Talking to Chronicle & Echo about when she first found out her bills had increased to £4,500, Jenni said: “I felt sick and my husband was almost in tears. We questioned how we could sustain the business as it would have been impossible for what we charge customers to cover our bills. It has been a very worrying time as if things go wrong, we have no hope and my house is on the line.”

As long as the bakery breaks even this year, Jenni says she will be happy. Despite the difficult circumstances Duston Village Bakery finds itself in, Jenni still maintains her positive outlook – and her customers are to be thanked for this.

“Our customers mean the absolute world,” she said. “I might go home absolutely shattered every night but everyone has had a bit of cake and hopefully we’ve put a smile on their faces.”

Jenni has had to put prices up by 10 percent to make ends meet, which she felt “absolutely awful” for, and has said to customers: “If you don’t support us, you will lose us.”

Duston Village Bakery has done everything it can to minimise costs, including switching off one of their ovens and Jenni covering staff holidays so they do not have to pay out more wages than they need to. Thankfully, the air conditioning unit has now been switched off for the winter, but Jenni is fearful about the additional cost next summer to keep the bakes cool and staff members comfortable.

Although energy bills have hit the bakery hard, the cost of ingredients have also increased – with some, including jam, proving difficult to get hold of. With 10 staff members to look after, Jenni also has to think about how each decision affects them and their families.

The owner said: “We’re only just managing to keep our head above water, so raising staff wages isn’t possible. It’s a huge responsibility to have their best interests at heart when things are tight.”

Looking to a more positive time of year, the bakery’s Christmas market is happening from 6pm to 9pm on November 10. Jenni says she hopes her customers will support it and spread the word, as well as shopping with the independent businesses who will be joining her on the evening.