Local business at Rushden Lakes calls it a day after increase to rent forces departure from shopping centre
The Stop Gap, which specialised in fresh donuts and hot dogs, has made the decision to no longer trade at Rushden Lakes, citing rising rent as the key reason for its departure.
The business, which was previously located at Rushden Lakes’ food court adjacent to the south walk, stopped trading on December 31.
Andrea Hunt, who runs The Stop Gap, announced its departure from the shopping complex on the business’ Facebook page.
It said: “Absolutely gutted to be writing this post but unfortunately after three-and-a-half years tomorrow will be my last day at Rushden Lakes. I simply cannot absorb the cost of the rent being tripled.
“I would like to thank all my wonderful customers for the amount of support you have given over this period. It really does mean a lot to me.”
Andrea claims the cost to rent the space in the food court has tripled since taking on the five-year lease in 2019, which she says is not feasible for the business moving forward.
However, it is believed that The Stop Gap operated on a heavily discounted rent during its five years at Rushden Lakes, after which the cost to continue running escalated.
The departure of The Stop Gap from Rushden Lakes comes soon after Camper Cones, an ice-cream van which had been in operation for seven years, left the shopping centre in September.
2024 saw the arrival of Krispy Kreme in April and Ben and Jerry’s in the summer, seeing two locally-owned businesses leave as two popular High Street brands set up shop.