Latest news with #cafe
BBC News
21 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Taste cafe blames Dorset Museum fees as it scraps evening event
A cafe that operates inside a museum says it will no longer hold a popular evening event after the museum increased its Cafe and Dorset Museum began hosting their Night at the Museum meal and museum tours on a trial basis last Taste said the sell-out events were no longer sustainable after the museum increased its fee for staffing and tours by 550%.Dorset Museum said it had been operating at a loss during the trial period, which had now come to an end, but said its fee increase had been "very small". It said the "nominal amount" it had charged Taste had not covered its costs for providing staffing, museum access and guided tours. A statement released by Taste said: "Sadly we will no longer be able to host these evenings due to a cost increase of over 550% from Dorset County Museum."Unfortunately it is not sustainable for a small business like ours."We're incredibly disappointed, as these nights were a real highlight for us."Museum executive director Claire Dixon said: "The partnership [with Taste] is really important to us but we also recognise that we are all working in a challenging climate and need to ensure we achieve the right balance between income generation and cost management. "We are committed to supporting Taste with any activities and events that widen access for visitors and generate income for both of our organisations, whilst ensuring we cover any costs we incur, so we can continue to develop our own activities."Dorset Museum reopened in 2021 following a £16.4m revamp, but the Covid-era relaunch and a sharp increase in costs left it year it received £250,000 of lottery money to invest in schemes to increase footfall and diversify income. You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
Irish Times
a day ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Should VAT on hospitality be reduced? A cafe owner and an economist debate
Derek Bennett: I've run a cafe for more than 20 years - my business model is nearly broken There has been much recent speculation recently about the planned decrease in VAT for hospitality . The cost to the exchequer would be €545 million, assuming the reduction is applied only to food and not to accommodation . Many commentators have been asking where is the evidence that a decrease is needed. Firstly, I firmly believe the reduced rate should not apply to accommodation, as hotels use a dynamic pricing model which allows them to increase prices when they are busy. One argument against the reduction is that business systems could not cope with splitting accommodation from food to have two different rates, 9 per cent and 13.5 per cent. To me that is laughable: some hotels are already dealing with four rates: 0 per cent (for example, on takeaway coffee bags); 9 per cent; 13.5 per cent and 23 per cent (on alcohol and juices). Their powerful point of sale (POS) systems are well able to cope. READ MORE I own and have run a cafe in Dún Laoghaire for the past 21 years. My business model is nearly broken. To underline this point, my books show the increases we have had to deal with in 2024 and 2025. When customers say the costs of rent, rates and energy must be an issue, I explain they're not really the problem. My hourly employee costs annually are €220,000 for five to six staff on a day, including €25,000 of employers' Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI). Materials costs are €125,000. VAT is €54,000. Rent is €33,000. Energy is €18,000. Rates are €6,000. Our sales prices are at the high end and we have over 1,000 customers each week, so it shouldn't be so onerous. By the end of 2025, material inflation will have increased by 10 per cent (an increase of €12,000 over two years); living wage by 20 per cent (€40,000 over two years); VAT by 50 per cent (€44,000 or €22,000 in each of the two years) and sick pay is up €4,000. All of this amounts to a total of €100,000. The last three items contributed €88,000 or 88 per cent of the increases, and were set by the Government. Now, while any increase in employee benefits is very laudable, there does need to be joined up thinking around whether this is sustainable, along with the other increases we face. Part of that thinking requires Government departments to work together to assess the implications. [ Does Ireland's hospitality sector really need a VAT cut? Opens in new window ] It appears that was not done, and as a consequence, the next planned increase in living wage is delayed, as is auto pension enrolment, which will add €5,000 annually. These delays have been welcomed in the industry. But there is an elephant in the room which no one involved in the process appears to have considered: Covid tax warehousing. My business made a loss during Covid. The only reason we survived Covid was the Government's support programme, including tax warehousing, which left me with a sum of €58,000 to pay over five years, starting in May 2024. That arrangement in the two years for which I have broken down figures will amount to €18,000, and will be €12,000 for each of the following three years. How are small, community-based hospitality businesses supposed to deal with that on top of the increases outlined above? So now I am paying an overall extra of €118,000 – which has been partly offset by a price increase to my customers of €18,000. Therefore, in the two years of 2024 and 2025, my final extra costs amount to €100,000. There are many small businesses across Ireland facing this situation. That, to me, is the justification for a return to a lower VAT rate on food. We need innovative thinking – for example, exploring the possibility of focusing the VAT reduction on small hospitality businesses with net sales of up to €750,000, thereby excluding hotels, international chains, and large businesses. The €545 million cost to the exchequer would significantly reduce and, according to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request I submitted, over 3,000 businesses would benefit. Derek Bennett is the owner of Harry's Cafe Bar in Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin Barra Roantree: Cutting VAT would be expensive and economically illiterate The last few weeks have seen warnings about darkening skies on the economic horizon. We are told that deteriorating prospects and the possibility of a trade war instigated by the United States mean that the Government will deliver a ' much more cautious and restrained budget' this year than previously planned. Yet, an expensive and economically illiterate election pledge to reinstate a reduced 9 per cent rate of VAT on hospitality appears to remain on the table, recently elevated to a 'solemn commitment' by the Tánaiste Simon Harris. VAT is already levied on guest accommodation, catering and restaurant services at a reduced rate of 13.5 per cent rather than the standard rate of 23 per cent that applies to most goods and services. Figures from Revenue suggest this amounts to a tax relief of almost €2 billion per year and that lowering the rate to 9 per cent – as was temporarily the case from 2011 to 2019, and then again during the pandemic – would cost an extra €810 million per year. Excluding guest accommodation from the cut would slightly lower the cost (to less than €600 million), though it is not clear how feasible this would be. What rate would apply, for example, to a hotel package including dinner, bed and breakfast? The Irish Hotels Federation has renewed calls on the Government for a 'permanent restoration' of the 9 per cent VAT rate on the hospitality food services sector. Photograph: Getty Images Either cut would be expensive – costing more, for example, than lifting 55,000 children out of poverty; indexing tax credits and bands by forecast inflation; or extending the full-rate of Carer's Allowance to those currently receiving a partial payment or Domiciliary Care Allowance. The economic case for prioritising a VAT cut over these other commitments in the Programme for Government is exceptionally weak. This is reflected in the constantly shifting rationale provided by the sector for the cut: an evergreen response to whatever the issue of the day is. Previously it was to stimulate demand by reducing prices. However, both Irish and international evidence suggests that such cuts were pocketed by business owners with subsequent increases passed onto consumers in the form of higher restaurant and hotel prices. Now lobbyists for the sector claim a reduction in VAT is needed to preserve or increase profit margins, otherwise warning of 'another catastrophic year of shutdowns and job losses'. This is despite the fact the latest figures show there were 11 new companies incorporated for every liquidation in the sector, and that hospitality employment was 7 per cent higher in the first quarter of 2025 than a year earlier. Even if the sector wasn't booming, cutting VAT is a terrible way of supporting any businesses that may be struggling. That's because the largest share of the gains from a VAT cut go to businesses with the highest turnover: those selling at high volume and/or high prices. In other words, a VAT cut benefits owners of McDonald's and Michelin star restaurants more than a small cafe or restaurant. [ VAT rate cut for hospitality is back on the table - but will it be enough? Opens in new window ] If the Government and sector really believes that some smaller cafes and restaurants are struggling and deserve support, there are countless better ways to provide this. For example, the Government has previously paid a grant aimed at smaller hospitality businesses based on the size of their commercial rates bills, while long-delayed reforms to reduce litigation costs would help reduce insurance premiums. Given the availability of superior alternatives, competing priorities, and the worsening economic outlook, all that cutting VAT would achieve is to recklessly erode our already fragile tax base. Doing so would be the final nail in the coffin of this Government's claim to be responsible stewards of the public finances. Dr Barra Roantree is Assistant Professor in Economics and Programme Director of the MSc in Economic Policy at Trinity College Dublin
The Guardian
a day ago
- General
- The Guardian
My petty gripe: I don't begrudge your coffee addiction – but do you have to be such a bore about it?
I get it: you really like coffee. And you have an addiction. I'm not judging that. You're beholden to Big Bean, hopelessly hooked on the world's most consumed psychotropic drug. But, err, do you have to be such a bore about it? Does it really need a mention on your dating profile, as though a fondness for hot brown liquid is a personality trait? Is a coffee not truly a coffee unless it's conjured from scratch by a barista? And do you really need to be such a grump in the morning if you don't get it? Should you really be entitled to an extra hour's work break so you can stand in a lengthy cafe queue both morning and afternoon? (Before you delay yet another work meeting in favour of a protracted caffeine-foraging mission, let me introduce you to the office espresso machine and – don't give me that look – this jar of instant coffee.) Sure, you want an excuse to gossip with your colleagues*, get some fresh air, get your daily steps in or leave your lonely work-from-home station to have the only in-person interaction you'll have all day. All very worthy causes. But then on the weekend you'll make me tag along with you while you search for another overpriced cafe coffee just 20 minutes after you imbibed the first because the milk in the first cup of joe was under-steamed and you simply can't continue with your day until you've overridden that abomination with a quality flat white. Or on our camping trip you'll snub the moka pot-brewed campfire coffee and jump in your car and drive out of the wilderness to the nearest town to buy an artisanal long black in a takeaway cup. Waiting for you to return from your one-and-a-half-hour round trip ate up most of our precious morning, Peter! Granted, I don't know much about latte art, but I do know swans belong at liberty on shimmering lakes, not confined atop your morning beverage. As the world descends deeper into economic hardship, environmental doom and the clutches of authoritarian nutjobs, coffee snobbery inexplicably endures and strengthens, like cockroaches after the apocalypse. Apologies if I sound a bit bitter, tired and irritable, as though I have a mild headache coming on. Perhaps a shot of single-origin locally roasted ristretto will sort me out. * This article does not reflect on any of my Guardian Australia colleagues – I love you all
The Guardian
2 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
My petty gripe: I don't begrudge your coffee addiction – but do you have to be such a bore about it?
I get it: you really like coffee. And you have an addiction. I'm not judging that. You're beholden to Big Bean, hopelessly hooked on the world's most consumed psychotropic drug. But, err, do you have to be such a bore about it? Does it really need a mention on your dating profile, as though a fondness for hot brown liquid is a personality trait? Is a coffee not truly a coffee unless it's conjured from scratch by a barista? And do you really need to be such a grump in the morning if you don't get it? Should you really be entitled to an extra hour's work break so you can stand in a lengthy cafe queue both morning and afternoon? (Before you delay yet another work meeting in favour of a protracted caffeine-foraging mission, let me introduce you to the office espresso machine and – don't give me that look – this jar of instant coffee.) Sure, you want an excuse to gossip with your colleagues*, get some fresh air, get your daily steps in or leave your lonely work-from-home station to have the only in-person interaction you'll have all day. All very worthy causes. But then on the weekend you'll make me tag along with you while you search for another overpriced cafe coffee just 20 minutes after you imbibed the first because the milk in the first cup of joe was under-steamed and you simply can't continue with your day until you've overridden that abomination with a quality flat white. Or on our camping trip you'll snub the moka pot-brewed campfire coffee and jump in your car and drive out of the wilderness to the nearest town to buy an artisanal long black in a takeaway cup. Waiting for you to return from your one-and-a-half-hour round trip ate up most of our precious morning, Peter! Granted, I don't know much about latte art, but I do know swans belong at liberty on shimmering lakes, not confined atop your morning beverage. As the world descends deeper into economic hardship, environmental doom and the clutches of authoritarian nutjobs, coffee snobbery inexplicably endures and strengthens, like cockroaches after the apocalypse. Apologies if I sound a bit bitter, tired and irritable, as though I have a mild headache coming on. Perhaps a shot of single-origin locally roasted ristretto will sort me out. * This article does not reflect any of my Guardian Australia colleagues – I love you all
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Owner of cafe behind 'viral' sandwich responds to backlash over shock move: 'It could have been worse'
A cafe owner has hit back at disgruntled customers following backlash over her decision to stop selling a menu item they're famous for due to a 'quality' issue. MLK Deli owner Myra Karakelle said she made the difficult decision to pull Risky Brisket off the menu on Saturday after it failed to meet her high standards. The Surry Hills cafe, which opened in March 2024, has been attracting huge crowds daily, with many travelling far and wide for its signature sandwich - The Risky Brisket, which consistently sells out. The rye ciabatta is packed with lashings of six-hour slow-cooked smoked brisket, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and the deli's signature MLK House sauce - served with a side of pickles and salt and vinegar chips. Despite offering eight different sandwiches on the menu, customers were furious after visiting the cafe on Saturday - only to find that the fan favourite Risky Brisket was unavailable. 'The reason for that was because the brisket that we had prepared did not pass our quality test,' the owner said in a video. 'It was not good enough to serve to you. It was not good enough to take your money for and it was not good enough to put our name to... But I promise you it would have been worse if we served you a cr*p meal.' Myra said she wasn't aware of the poor quality meat until after completing the full seven-day preparation process - brining, cooking and then smoking it. 'It generally takes up to six hours every day to slow cook it. Our mornings start from 5am - this consists of smoking the brisket then transferring it to cook,' Myra told Daily Mail Australia. 'On average we sell three slabs of brisket a day, which equates to approximately 15-20kg. We keep each slab of brisket in brine for six to seven days before the day of cooking so it's a lengthy process.' When it came time to serve on Saturday, the employees realised the meat was 'not tender enough' and Myra said she couldn't risk letting customers eat something she thought felt like 'chewing rubber'. 'I asked the team to not sell three slabs of brisket that we had prepared that day. It was very difficult and I'm sure we disappointed a lot of people,' she said. 'I am really sorry for that, but I think I would have been much more sorrier if we had taken your money and served you a meal that was not good enough. 'We put our integrity to it and we also wouldn't want to do that just in general. I understand it was very frustrating and I'm very sorry, but I think I would have been much more sorry if you had a s*** meal.' Despite her reasonable explanation, some customers took their frustration online - leaving one-star reviews for her cafe on Google. 'The customer reactions were wild and not what I expected at all. One person even heavily criticised us on multiple platforms, comparing us to KFC running out of chicken,' Myra told Daily Mail Australia. 'We received one-star Google reviews for not having it. Albeit we are susceptible to one-star reviews even when we sell out. 'It's incredible how much our customers love our brisket, but their frustrations when they can't have it are just as intense. We will always strive for quality over quantity/sales. 'That is out of respect to our brand and also out of respect to our customers. I really hope that can be understood.' Myra said she felt it was important to address the issue as she didn't want to disappoint her customers, especially those who had travelled far for the sought-after sandwich. 'Everyone deals with frustration differently and I completely understand why it would have been annoying to come all the way to Surry Hills and not get something that you were hoping to have,' she said. The owner said they run their business out of a 90-square metre shop with limited space so they don't have a central kitchen or a cool room. 'We are only able to brine, smoke and cook certain amounts of brisket every day,' she explained. 'I wish we had a bigger space... It would mean that we would be able to produce bigger volumes, but we are not a big fast food chain. We are a very small shop in Surry Hills and we are a family business, so please bear with us.' Myra said the issue arose after her cafe received a 'cut of meat that was a different brand' than what they usually get from their supplier. 'It wasn't flagged as a problem but unfortunately it did not behave the same way that our usual cuts of brisket does,' she explained. However, she confirmed the venue has since switched back to its usual high-quality meat so she expects the problem won't happen again. She said The Risky Brisket sandwiches are constantly selling out so she urged customers to arrive early to avoid missing out again. 'Thank you for selling it out, but we cannot produce more. We physically from a logistics point of view, we cannot produce more,' she said. 'We do not have the space, we do not have the means and we just don't have the possibility. So we cook as much as we can every single morning. She added: 'I just needed to jump on and to clear the air for anyone who came in and couldn't have the Risky Brisket or was frustrated or dealt with it differently, I am sorry, I am sorry, but I would have been sorrier if you had a cr*p meal.' Dozens of loyal customers jumped to the cafe's defence, with one saying: 'Thank you for taking pride in quality of the food you serve. Sorry you felt the need to explain it. People need to chill and come back another day.' 'You are the best of the best on the sandwich game! I'm so sorry for any hate or negativity you got. You don't deserve it! Can't wait to see you soon,' another said. 'You owned it. You dealt with it. Beautifully handled, you'll always have our business,' one shared. 'These things happen, you don't owe people an explanation yet you still gave it.. Just shows the type of person you are. Love your business, love your food and love you! Keep pushing, there is always going to be people that complain about something, can't always please everyone,' another added.
