City centre cafes still struggling as many office workers yet to return

Sham Sharma, the chairman of Wolverhampton Business Forum, said lunchtime trade had dried up for independent cafes and restaurants, with so many people from the city centre's big businesses still working from home.

Mr Sharma, who owns Zuri Coffee in Lichfield Street, said: "My members are asking when the staff from Wolverhampton Council's Civic Centre and the University of Wolverhampton will be returning.

"Without the office-based workers in the city the small restaurants and cafes in the city centre are suffering, particularly the lunchtime trade.

"Those in the other areas of the city are doing quite well."

Mr Sharma said hospitality businesses needed some certainty about when office staff would be back in numbers.

"A lot of leases are up for renewal and members are wondering whether they should sign up. They are in a bit of a dilemma," he added.

He said businesses were also unsure about whether to bring more staff back from furlough or not because trade would not meet the extra costs.

"We need the council and other big employers to keep people informed about what they plan to do.

"Eateries like mine just can't plan at all at the moment."

A couple who bought a city centre cafe at the end of last year are among those to have been hit hard by the lack of trade.

Rhonda Bridgart from Gailey said she and husband Neil, who run Laney Rays in Princess Street, hoped that the Prime Minister’s announcement of an end to coronavirus restrictions on July 19 would see business pick up for them.

“Business has been really slow with so many of the city’s office workers at home,” she said.

The couple bought the business in November and after opening had to close for a month due to lockdown.

“We are just going day by day at the moment. It has been tough.

“Things have got a tiny bit better since we were allowed to have customers sit inside again, but we are not seeing a lot of foot traffic coming past with most office workers not back and university students still missing,” explained Rhonda.

The cafe is currently open 9am to 2pm Monday to Saturday for breakfasts and lunch.

“When the new football season starts and the fans are back that may help us and we’ll open later on match days,” said Rhonda.

“With the announcement of an end to restrictions things are looking brighter and hopefully it will go in the right direction.

“We just need the office workers back in the city,” added Rhonda, who has started offering roast dinners to generate a bit of extra trade.

Mr Sharma said that the Prime Minister's announcement of the planned end of coronavirus restrictions on July 19 was welcome but there were still a lot of issues to be sorted out.

"Hospitality businesses in Wolverhampton have done a lot to mitigate the risk to customers by putting in safety precautions.

"While the end to restrictions is welcome unless the office workers, council staff and Grand Theatre audiences come back that doesn't mean anything to the city centres businesses.

"If all those workers continue to stay away and work from home we just can't plan. That is the biggest problem. We don't know if we can unfurlough workers because we don't know if we'll be able to afford to pay them."

He said that during the week the city centre was "dead" from 2pm.

"We open Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to 6pm but after 2.30pm we are hardly taking any money. On Saturdays after 3.30pm no one is around.

"We are looking forward to the football season becauee that may bring back customers on match days.

"We need people in the city centre. Without people we can't trade – it's as simple as that," Mr Sharma stressed.