Popular community cafe closes in Coventry

[dutchman]

The cafe had been open in the city centre for more than 30 years



A popular cafe in Coventry city centre has closed its doors for good.

Wesley's Community Cafe, located inside the Methodist Central Hall on Warwick Lane, took to social media to confirm the news.

Bosses at the cafe revealed there were a number of reasons leading to the closure, of what has been a mainstay in the city for decades.

They said that in addition to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the influx of new restaurants to Coventry played a part, along with the long running construction work in the nearby area.

The first disruption to the surrounding area came as Coventry's new water park The Wave, was under construction.

More recently, the pedestrianised areas surrounding the cafe have been ripped up and replaced, as part of plans to regenerate much of the city centre.

The major project spans the length of Smithford Way and Market Way, as far as the Bull Yard, and the Christchurch Spire.

And Wesley's is not the first establishment to close its doors in this area - with the neighbouring Inspire bar closing just weeks ago, for reasons unknown.

[rebbonk]

And Wesley's is not the first establishment to close its doors in this area...

The few remaining businesses in the city centre are on borrowed time. I wonder if Flames Cafe has had any offers?

[dutchman]

The few remaining businesses in the city centre are on borrowed time.

The ones in the suburbs aren't fairing too well at the moment either. I wonder how many will reopen when this lockdown ends?

[rebbonk]

I picked up a few pieces from the newspapers today. The authorities are worrying about business failures, hence the changing of the bankruptcy laws. - You can now trade whilst insolvent! They are also worried about the huge cost for the furlough and other business support schemes.

A governmental adviser has suggested that small businesses could be allowed to return to work during the first week of May. Pubs and the like could re-open a fortnight later, and children could return to school at the end of May.

All obviously very fluid, but you get an idea of the train of thought.

I seriously expect that there will be plenty of businesses that don't ever open their doors again.

[dutchman]

I fear our local chippy may be one of them and not just because of the lockdown. They were looking shakey even before this. Hope I'm wrong?