A POPULAR bakery in the Beechmount area has announced its closure due to the increase in electricity costs.
Gráinne Carson, owner of Patisserie G bakery, has said she had no choice but to close.
Speaking with the Andersonstown News Gráinne shared her fear of the increase in the electricity bills.
“The electricity bill would have been hitting £5,000 for two months. We don’t bring that in, it just meant I was going to get into debt.
“It’s like lockdown but now it’s shut down because everything is just shutting down and it’s because of financial difficulties. Everything would be fine if the electricity was capped at a reasonable price, if the supplies were kept at a reasonable price.
“Everything is going up, I couldn’t put all my prices up, people couldn’t afford that.
“You tell the kids you can work hard, that you can achieve anything and then the government go 'no you’re on your own'. The prices just get hacked up.
“Energy bills are terrifying for me. Between October and March time we’ll use a lot more. In winter you have the heat on, the boilers going, and the ovens are the main thing. I’m afraid of the bill, that’s my biggest fear.
“Through summer we kept the ice cream freezer off and some lights off, we brought our energy bill right down."
Opening in August last year, the bakery which operated as a café also included a number of community initiatives including a Breakfast Club for the kids in the community to get a free breakfast before school, a Young Entrepreneurs business for the kids to sell items at their weekly stalls and a weekly book club.
The young entrepreneurs stall at Patisserie G bakery.
Gráinne was also tackling period poverty by providing free period products in her toilets.
“It’s just a ticking clock, it’s one by one, and it’s all small businesses because there’s no help. I’ve reached out to local MLAs and haven’t heard a word back.
“I told the kids that they can be anything they want to be, some want to be bakers and they came in here and helped out. They know it’s hard work but still dream.
“We were here, we would talk away, you would always get somebody who would listen to you, that’s what is going to be missing, especially for the older ones in the community.
“There was so much more to do, so much planned. That’s the sad part.”
Customers of the bakery, which has become a community hub, expressed their sadness and heartbreak at the news of the closure on social media.
The bakery will remain opened until the 24th of September.
