Bernie’s Grocery Store is to close down its shop in Heaton Moor, in the wake of increasing costs. The shop’s site in Altrincham will remain open, but the original store will shut its doors for good next month
The shop, owned by Will France and partner Bethan Roberts, previously of Pollen and Wolfhouse Kitchen, first opened in Heaton Moor in 2020, with a view to responsible sourcing and sustainability. It then opened another store in Altrincham last year.
But in a post to Instagram, the couple have said that their ‘first love’ is to close on July 16, actually the business’s second birthday.
READ MORE:
“This is a pretty tough thing to write but it’s been on the cards for most of 2022,” they said. “After much distressing deliberation we’ve made the decision to close our Heaton Moor shop - our first love.
“There’s many reasons - the stress, the juggling of two sites, the nightmare of cashflow, the increased cost of everything, the rising energy bills etc, but there’s also another reason, it simply isn’t busy enough to cover costs, wages & rent anymore.
“Coming out of lockdown in 2021 had a huge impact on footfall & turnover, we had it sweet when other businesses where suffering in lockdown but ironically the HM site simply can’t exist without it - as a business it was born out of unemployment & the pandemic itself.
“Our super loyal customer base is now busier than ever, back at work, navigating through the new normal & juggling the same added costs as we all are & we understand that whilst a lot of people love what we do, they simply can’t spend or visit as much as they used too.
“If anything our Heaton Moor shop gave us an amazing platform & allowed us to open our second - which looking back was a mental thing to do, but we went with it. This has left us with an amazing shop in a much desired location that in the next 18 months will see development all around us.
“We’re trying to find a solution that will allow us to transfer the business or sell potentially to someone else but we still need to work this out. So on the 16th of July, our 2nd birthday, Heaton Moor will close its doors for the last time as Bernie’s - it would be great to see you one last time. Thank you for all your love & support over the last couple of years.”
Many of the city’s other operators, such as Pollen, Batard and Station South, all posted messages of support at the sad news.
Get the latest What's On news - from food and drink to music and nightlife - straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter.
Read more of today's top stories here
READ NEXT:
- ‘Neighbourhood bar’ and Thai BBQ Neon Tiger is a slice of New York in Manchester
- LGBTQ+ cocktail den set to open in ‘historic warehouse’ location
- National Restaurant Awards: All the northern restaurants officially named among UK's best
- New chicken joint Bird of Prey will bring ‘fried chicken and waffles’ to Oxford Road
- I took my vegan-sceptic teenager to the city's latest vegan burger joint, but did he love it?
