Help Our Hospitality: Just how well are Northampton venues tackling ‘the perfect storm’?

Launched at the beginning of March, this newspaper’s hospitality campaign hoped to raise awareness of just how much is on offer across the town – and to share the importance of supporting our venues as much as possible.

Three months and 11 stories down the line, what have we learnt so far and just how well are those in the hospitality sector tackling what has been described as “the perfect storm”?

Help Our Hospitality began with a poignant story, summing up exactly why this campaign was needed three months into the new year.

The owner of the award-winning Electric Pavilion spoke out after the venue had to close its doors for the final time in February.

After having been open for less than a year, brothers Paul Kuznecovs and Arturs Dzerins had to call it quits.

This proved to Northampton residents that a business may appear successful from the outside, with award wins and prestigious accolades under its belt, but no one was safe from the challenges they had already faced – and what lay ahead.

“Businesses are facing the perfect storm,” said Paul. “When we envisioned this project, we did not imagine taking on the impacts of the cost of living crisis, the pandemic, the invasion on Ukraine and Brexit.”

In the second campaign instalment, a new concept was shared with our readers – one which pushes looking after hospitality workers in order to see businesses survive and thrive.

Oliver Pugh, the founder of TableYeti, has been committed to creating devices that ensure workers receive the tips they have worked hard for and deserve.

Oliver told the Chronicle & Echo: “Businesses need to invest in the people who make them thrive.

“Tips allow workers to earn a fair wage without it impacting the ability for the brilliant hospitality industry to stay afloat.”

The next three stories were all about promoting what the town has to offer – and three venues jumped at the chance to back an important campaign about the industry they love so dearly.

Cheyne Walk Club, Wedgwood and Alberto’s in Abington Street, and The Eccentric Englishman in St Giles’ Street all shared how their businesses have fared.

It began with James Tarry, the vice chair of Cheyne Walk Club, promoting the importance of “community” and hospitality “providing an escape from your work and home bubble”.

As a club with rich history and one that has survived the test of time, it was pleasing to see a positive tale to come out of a challenging few years.

Mehmet Yetkin, the owner of Wedgwood and Alberto’s, shared just how vital the industry is in giving jobs to local people – to allow them to support themselves and their families.

And Liz Cox, owner of The Eccentric Englishman, spoke of how she could never have imagined taking the plunge to open the quirky cafe and bar of her dreams would see her face “astronomical” price rises.

However, her venue is an asset to Northampton town centre and visitors from all over the country have kept her afloat.

Kingsthorpe’s The Place To Bee, offering vital experiences to young adults with special educational needs, told their brutal reality that they would not have survived if they were a regular business not receiving the financial support they do.

“We hold our own,” said Trudi Daurie, the retail manager. “We are very lucky that we’ve had support in raising money for the business, from The Goed Life, the Bernard Sunley Trust, and The Wilson Foundation.”

On the flip side of the struggles many face, brothers James and Matt Ingram have two successful hospitality venues and they are soon to introduce a third.

The Smoke Pit and Hops and Chops have cracked the code to finding loyal customer bases and doing what they do well – and they hope this will also be the case for a new chicken restaurant they are introducing in the former Buddies USA site in Dychurch Lane.

Two well-established businesses were next to wade in on the campaign, with Tracy Demetri from 50-year-old restaurant and pub The Pytchley Inn pleading for customers to “use or lose independent venues”.

Then Andrew Chapman from The World’s End, winners of Channel 4’s Four in a Bed back in March, shared that their monthly energy bills had tripled.

Their television win and new accolade may have seen “a huge spike” in takings after experiencing a 693 percent increase in social media traffic, but Andrew says there is “nothing you can do to claw back” costs outside of your control.

The following week we delved back into the state of the town centre with John Franklin’s, a popular cheese and wine bar in Guildhall Road.

Despite their best efforts to keep evolving since they first opened in 2016, general manager Owen Makin said the price of cheese, which is what the venue is known for, has “gone through the roof”.

And finally, just this week, a pub owner and chef brought us right back to where we began and described the current times as “the perfect storm”.

Luke Bavester, the owner of The Sheaf Inn in West Haddon, feels “incredibly lucky” to have seen a 30 percent increase in takings at his popular country pub.

While that was a brief run down of our in-depth coverage, one thing is clear – Northampton is home to so many wonderful venues, but they can only continue fighting to survive if we put our hands in our pockets, if and when we can, to support them.

The campaign will continue over the coming weeks and months, giving a platform to the businesses keeping our thriving hospitality scene going strong.

If your hospitality venue would like to feature in our Help Our Hospitality campaign, email [email protected].