Independent cafes hope to stay open ‘as long as possible’

INDEPENDENT cafes in Henley are serving takeaway only and hope to stay open as “long as possible”.

This comes as the Government announced yesterday (Friday) that people should avoid all cafes, pubs and restaurants in a bid to halt the spread of coronavirus.

Many of the cafes have reduced their hours and are working with a skeleton staff as they believe staying open gives residents a “sense of normality”.

Cindy Gillett, who runs the Spoon café and delicatessen in Duke Street, says she is taking every day as it comes.  

She said: “We have stacked away all of our tables and chairs and so you can’t sit in and we are keeping our doors open and offering takeaways for as long as we can. If we do need to adjust further and serve from the door that’s what we will do.

“If today doesn’t work, if people aren’t coming out for takeaway, we will need to make a decision to close. But whilst the Government says we can still do takeaways we will still do that. We feel that we have a duty to the community.”

She added: “The feedback we have had since we opened has been incredible and people have told us that coming out for coffee at this time is a slice of normality in a chaotic world. We are not doing it for a commercial point of view. This is something we do for the community.”

Lorraine Hillier, who runs the Hot Gossip café in Reading Road, said this morning has been a busy one and she hopes to launch a home delivery service soon.

She said: “We are open for takeaway and we had a queue this morning but we don’t know how long we will be able to sustain the business if we don’t get enough people through the door. We will stay open as long as we can.

“The customers I have spoken to have said that they are looking to support just the independents, which is nice to hear. They have been really understanding as to what we can offer but we can’t go on for long.

“I have logged on to the Government website and I am waiting hear what I am eligible for but it is a worry as this is my only source of income. If I don’t earn through the door then I can pay my rent on the shop or where I live, or the staff wages.”

She added: “I think it is important to keep going as long as we can so we can give people that sense of normality. There are people who have a routine and who want to see other people. We don’t want Henley to become like a ghost town and we want to keep some sense of what we have in the town as it is more reassuring for everybody.”

Drifters in Duke Street has started selling bundles of essential goods.  

Co-owner Millie Jeans, who lives in Henley, is staying positive. She said: “We are still smiling and so far, so good.

“We are offering a home delivery service and turning Drifters into a grocery store of sorts. If we can keep being supplied with products we will offer essentials that people may not be able to find on a shop floor.”

The bundles include items such as toilet rolls, baking potatoes, pasta, milk, eggs and bread.

Ms Jeans said: “It has gone really well so far, we sold 10 bundles last week and seven so far today and we have had quite a few vouchers bought which they can redeem later on.

“We are not allowing people through the door because we want to keep everybody safe. I really hope we can keep it going and we will do our utmost to change along with the town’s needs. If we do go down, we will go down fighting.”

Lawrence Tian, owner of Berries Coffee in Hart Street, said he has had to reduce his opening hours but hopes to still turn a profit.

He said: “On Friday we took the decision to close but when we saw that others were going to try just doing takeaways we thought we would do the same.

“Quite a lot of our regulars are supporting us, which is great, and we hope to continue and make a some profit. We have had to cut staff hours to save on costs but we hope to stay open.”

Vivienne Lee, who runs the Chocolate Café in Thames Side, Henley, and a second branch in Goring, has launched takeaway, drive-through options and home delivery at both locations.

She said: “We have always taken our position in the community very seriously, so as we all adapt to this challenging situation, I know that the Chocolate Cafe can have a very central role to play.

“We have adapted our menu so we can still offer a range of dishes as a takeaway option. We can meet you outside with your order so there is no need to leave your car.

“For those of you who are unable to leave the house, we can provide a non-contact non-contact delivery service to your door."

Ms Lee says she is in talks with her suppliers to see if she could combine food deliveries with shopping deliveries as well as possibly teaming up with second hand bookshops.

She said: “With up to two weeks delay on [online supermarket] deliveries, we can provide a much more immediate and local solution to the food supply chain.

“We have a whole load of food in stock, perishable and non-perishable, fresh and frozen, so we are putting together a huge shopping list that we will advertise. If we have them in stock it seems silly not to be able to help.”

Nestor Castillo, who runs Café Buendia in Bell Street, said he will sell takeaways for a week but may have to close down if he doesn’t do enough trade.

He said: “I have today taken a few takeaways but there has not really been many people around the town.

“Next week I will be opening from 3pm to 7pm and just see what happens and see whether it is worth me staying open. If not, I will probably have to close.

“If I have to close, I will definitely look to re-open in the future but we will have to see because it will depend how long we need to stay closed for.”

Smiley Café, above M&Co in Bell Street, said they will stay open for as long as the shop below it does and has used social media to try and attract customers.

Steve Cunningham, who runs the café with his wife Sandra, said: “We have put posts on social media to tell people we are still here to serve takeaway of hot and cold food and I am happy to do a delivery service as well as have collections.

“Staying open does offer people that sense of normality and coffee shops are the hub of the Henley community.”

A full report will appear in the Henley Standard, out next Friday.