Restaurants forced to cut back on utilities as energy bills rise

16 May 2022 by
Restaurants forced to cut back on utilities as energy bills rise

Restaurants and cafes are having to raise prices and cut back on heating and air conditioning in the face of spiralling energy costs.

Businesses have been forced to find savings with one in 10 operators seeing their bills increase by more than 200%, according to a recent poll by trade bodies including UKHospitality and the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA).

Steve Neale, director of Josephine's Tea Lounge and Bistro in Nottingham, said staff were switching lights off when rooms were not in use and only turning on certain equipment such as the dishwasher when the first customer arrived.

The restaurant only opens late if it has bookings and the team no longer use a dryer after washing uniforms and cloths.

Neale said: "[It's] impossible to survive unless things change rapidly. It's the noticeable drop in footfall that is concerning at present, [but it] could be seasonal though."

Chef Jamie Scott, owner of the Newport Restaurant in Fife, tweeted that his utility bill for the restaurant had risen from £17,000 per year to £90,000.

In a separate post, Scott said the increasing cost of electricity meant it was "not that feasible anymore" to make stock in-house and leave a pot on overnight.

In Liverpool, the Lu Ban restaurant has had to raise prices after introducing a new menu earlier this month.

The restaurant has a full induction kitchen and the team ensure everything is switched off at the socket when they close and avoid using heating or air conditioning unless strictly necessary.

Dave Critchley, executive chef director at Lu Ban, said: "We still want to offer a fantastic product as best value as we can, but this is becoming increasing difficult. We don't want to lose our values or cheapen our product by cutting corners or using inferior products. We have seen a little push back on our pricing, but we don't have a choice."

He added that private hire events now had to be "carefully thought about" in terms of the energy usage and costs they would incur.

Critchley added: "We like to think of ourselves a quite a green business and the current situation has made us think even more about how we can do those small actions that make a difference."

Image: Take Photo / Shutterstock

Continue reading

You need to create an account to read this article. It's free and only requires a few basic details.

Already subscribed?

The Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email

Start the working day with The Caterer’s free breakfast briefing email

Sign Up and manage your preferences below

Check mark icon
Thank you

You have successfully signed up for the Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email and will hear from us soon!

Jacobs Media Group is honoured to be the recipient of the 2020 Queen's Award for Enterprise.

The highest official awards for UK businesses since being established by royal warrant in 1965. Read more.

close

Ad Blocker detected

We have noticed you are using an adblocker and – although we support freedom of choice – we would like to ask you to enable ads on our site. They are an important revenue source which supports free access of our website's content, especially during the COVID-19 crisis.

trade tracker pixel tracking