Since the onset of the Covid pandemic in 2020 there has been a slow but ever-increasing strain put on the hospitality industry.
In those five years, town after town across Northern Ireland has seen their once thriving bars and restaurants struggle to fill tables, putting on offer after offer in an attempt to entice potential drinkers and diners through their doors.
When these offers are introduced, hungry patrons often overlook the fact that the business owner is more often than not sacrificing their profit margin in the hopes that additional drinks will be purchased, perhaps a starter or dessert for good measure, and sometimes they just hang their hopes on repeat custom further down the line.
In County Armagh alone, countless businesses have sacrificed their profit margins in the hopes of weathering the storm for months and – on occasion – years, only to inevitably close their doors for once and for all when the light at the end of the tunnel ceases to shine.
This light became steadily dimmer as year after year businesses were repeatedly slammed with increases to utility bills, staffing costs and various supplies.
Now, they are preparing to be hit with yet another unprecedented price increase, as all meat products are set to rise before Monday (March 31).
This new increase – to products which are already at an all time high – could see the cost to the consumer rise yet again, or force businesses to further reduce their already dwindling profits.
Speaking to Armagh I previously about the impending effects of the budget in April, one County Armagh restaurant owner stated that “only the strong would survive”.
And while his statement may seem cold on the surface, he was speaking to the longest established businesses who are often property owners without rent or mortgage payments to add to the list of monthly bills.
As prices continue to climb, none seem to regress to their pre-Covid status. Restaurants and bars can no longer raise the cost to the customer. “It’s at a ceiling,” said the restaurant owner.
Tom Quinn, owner of Holy Smokes BBQ Shack in Portadown, agreed and also made the point that some suppliers have increased the prices of more than just their meat products, adding: “To be fair it’s not only the protein.
“We got an email from one of our suppliers last week and they have put every single item up. They are blaming the budget. Our beef alone has gone up in the last matter of weeks by 35%.
“Then when cold, fresh produce comes in you don’t pay any VAT on that, but as soon as you cook it you have to add VAT on. So take your VAT and take your price rises there’s 55% and then there’s the new contributions coming in. You’re talking by next week a rise of 65-70% in overheads.”
In relation to increasing menu prices, Tom said: “You’ll get people complaining without knowing what’s really going on.
“At the end of the day every business wants to be viable and wants to be competitive and you’re trying your best, but on the other side – I won’t exaggerate – even with how busy we are, we are scraping through.”
In respect of the lesser VAT rate in the Republic of Ireland, Tom is not envious but instead argues that with Northern Ireland’s higher VAT rate for hospitality that businesses here continue to lose out on trade from across the border.
He said: “We [Holy Smokes] have a huge footfall that comes from Dublin. On a Saturday I reckon 30% of our customers are from the south of Ireland, but why would you expect them to eat with us and come to us when they can eat much cheaper closer to home?
“On the Northern Ireland Business page every day two or three businesses come up for sale and they are all young businesses.
“We wouldn’t be doing it if we weren’t viable and making money, but I’m not lying when I say we are clawing through at the minute.”
