Cost of 'joy' forces restaurant to close

A restaurant owner, who says she is closing her business because of the pressures faced by the hospitality industry, has said people cannot afford "joy" at the moment.

V-Ate, an American-themed diner in Sutterton near Boston, will close its doors on Sunday with the loss of 19 jobs.

Managing director, Victoria Burden, said the impact of Covid-19 and the cost of living crisis, as well as rising prices of energy, food and wages had "decimated" the restaurant industry.

She said: "We're just heartbroken. If someone had told me this would happen when I first started in hospitality I would not have believed them."

The closure of the restaurant, which had been open for seven years, was described by customers as "sad" and "shocking" on social media.

Breaking down in tears, Mrs Burden said she did not know what the future would hold and said "right now I feel like curling up in a little ball and not coming out".

She told the BBC her business had been "well-supported and well-loved" and said the decision to close came after "throwing everything at it financially".

"People just don't have as much money to come out, and it's the first thing that goes. All the joy goes. It's not an essential item. It's a joyful thing to come and do.

"A lot of people in business are treading water right now. We've been doing it for three or four years now hoping it will come good," Mrs Burden added.

"I would have sold this business for a penny at times just to to get the head space back. It would be easier to just go and work for somebody else and that shouldn't be how entrepreneurs in this country feel."

Follow BBC Lincolnshire on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram. Send your story ideas to e[email protected]