The Polly Tea Rooms on Marlborough High Street in Wiltshire has closed after 114 years in business, with its owners describing current trading conditions as "impossible".
The historic venue, first opened by suffragette Janet McCloud and her business partner Jean Leith Hay in 1912, has posted a notice in its window confirming the closure. The notice cites "relentless tax rises and overhead costs, plus another minimum wage increase" as the reasons for the decision.
It adds that these changes arrived during an ongoing cost-of-living crisis "affecting our customers' ability to eat out", with the resulting situation being "simply impossible to run a high street business in the UK in these circumstances".
A local institution since 1912
In its early days, the tea room served as a safe place for local women to meet because of its suffragette connection. Over the past century, it has provided breakfast, lunch, tea and coffee to customers and became a well-loved local institution.
Last year, then-owner David Clarke put the business up for sale at £460,000, according to the Wiltshire Gazette and Herald. The listing has since been removed from the website of the agents handling the sale, Every Masson & Furby.
Customers and staff thanked
The notice also expresses gratitude to the business's customers and staff. "Thank you to all of our customers; we value all of your business, and a special thank you to our great staff team," it reads.
The tea room was popular with both locals and tourists, and it has collected a number of positive online reviews praising the service and the quality of the food. One review reads: "What a lovely find! It's a very quaint tea shop with an extensive menu and a tempting selection of delicious-looking cakes. The premises are surprisingly spacious and laid out beautifully."
Another says: "Great value full English breakfast. Table was very comfortable and staff were welcoming, friendly and helpful. The breakfast was absolutely delicious. They also had many, many homemade cakes."
Wider hospitality pressures
The Government has announced that the National Living Wage and Minimum Wage will once again be increased. UKHospitality CEO Allen Simpson said in a statement: "The hospitality sector creates jobs in every community and is the UK's biggest employer of young people. Currently, however, hospitality businesses are being forced to absorb employment cost increases at a rate that is impossible to sustain without significant hits to job opportunities. A 3.9% increase in wage costs just adds further pressure and prevents the sector from investing in job creation."
"Shedding job opportunities is deeply worrying for an industry that has always given people their first chance in the workplace. If the Government wants to widen opportunity, support local economies and help businesses invest and grow, it must back hospitality and reduce the unfair tax burden on the sector."
