Making the difficult decision to permanently shut up shop, owners at one Mayo café confirmed that it comes in light of news that hospitality businesses will not reopen until much later this year.
Owners at On the Way Café, a well-known fixture in Killala, Co Mayo, have made the tough decision to close the place for good in light of recent announcements.
Breaking the news on social media, a message from the team reads:
“We’re sorry to have to tell everyone that we’ve decided not to reopen the cafe. With the opening date pushed back until June, by then we will have been closed or working with restrictions for 15 months and all that time continuing to pay our bills. Thank you for your support.”
Announcing the sad news over the weekend, there has been an outpouring of love for the place since then with both customers and fellow hospitality workers commiserating with owners. Wishing them well on wherever the future brings them next, it’s clear that they’ll be very sorely missed in the local community.
To say we're devastated to hear this is an understatement. Best wishes Carmel and Iggy. Your lovely café will really be missed. https://t.co/jCpbFqz2aT
— Mayo North Tourism, Ireland (@MayoNorth) February 21, 2021
Predicting that, unfortunately, “we’re going to see more and more of this”, one onlooker commented that it’s going to be “an incredibly difficult year for many small businesses and their employees”.
Not the only ones to feel deflated at the news, one fellow restaurateur down in Cork this morning shared “a few, carefully chosen words” to the Taoiseach calling for leadership and greater clarity on what’s to come for the industry. You can read more on that here.
Header image via Facebook/On the Way Café
