Cardiff has seen a wide variety of businesses come and go in recent years, from big chains, such as Debenhams, to independent shops. The pandemic saw a number of shops, cafes, and restaurants in the city announce their closure, leaving empty units on what used to be some of Cardiff's busiest streets.
Queen Street, once a hubbub of activity, has lost some of its major chains, with Topshop, River Island, and Zara all closing, and the latter two stores moving to the St David's Shopping Centre. Read our deep dive into the dire state of the rundown and atrophying street here. More recently, businesses all over the country have also been grappling with the effects of the cost of living crisis, with many being forced to shut their doors as bills and financial pressures mount.
The last five years in particular has seen huge changes on some of Cardiff's biggest streets, with nearly 100 units having changed purpose. Here are some of the shops in the city that announced their closure this year.
READ MORE: Calls for public consultation on the future of St David's Hall
Run and Become
After serving Cardiff for 22 years, Run and Become shut its doors for the final time in July this year. The closure of the St Mary Street branch leaves Run and Become's London shop as the sole remaining location. The shop had first opened on Wood Street in 2000, however, managing director and co-owner Shankara Smith told WalesOnline said that there were a number of reasons for the closure.
Shankara said that some reasons for the closure included the manager of 22 years stepping down, the financial impact of lockdowns (although she indicated Cardiff council offered some help with this), and the "country-wide issue" of business rates being set in a way that "entirely failed to take into consideration the changing retail landscape with the growth of internet sales".
La Creme Patisserie - Llandaff
The Llandaff branch of La Creme Patisserie announced that it would cease trading on November 12 and move their location to Cwmbran town centre. "The decision hasn't been taken lightly, but it's the right move for us," the company said in a Facebook post announcing the closure. "After over a year of trading, the world has changed. Costs are skyrocketing with ingredients and electricity rising astronomically. We signed for the shop while the world was still staying inside with Covid.
"Our business is not closing. We still supply venues across the country, from Buckingham palace to the Celtic Manor. We still have our shops in Baglan, Abergavenny and now Cwmbran town centre." The patisserie shop still delivers around Cardiff three times a week.
15:17
The department store on Queen Street closed less than a year after opening after taking over the site of the former Topshop in June 2021. It was confirmed in April that the company had gone into liquidation. Billed as a "department store with a difference", 15:17 aimed to bring together local and national brands, selling beauty products, clothes, food and drink, flowers and more.
The store also had an in-store cafe, Fresh, Local & Wild, which catered for vegans and food intolerances, as well as a phone repair clinic. But by autumn last year, the top two floors of the store had been closed and emptied out, with stock seemingly limited to food, drink, and plants on the ground floor.
The rest of the store was cleared out at the beginning of January, leaving the unit largely empty. A winding-up order was made against the company on February 22 according to companies house.
Eartha
The plant shop and café on City Road announced its closure in June, eventually shutting up shop a month later. In its fifth year of trading, the store announced that it would not be continuing with its tenancy.
"It was a difficult decision to make but due to the impact of the pandemic in combination with recent price hikes we have sadly decided to call it a day," an Instagram post from the store read. The business started as a pop-up that was helped by a crowdfunder and the Prince's Trust before expanding on City Road following the first lockdown. It has been replaced by new music bar, Paradise Garden.
Allen's Bakery Roath
This 'secret' artisan bakery closed its doors after over 100 years of business in September after its owner retired. Tucked away in a rear garage down an alley off Arran Place in Roath, the historic hidden bakery had reportedly been running for 110 years and sold loaves, rolls, cakes, pastries, and pies to businesses all over the city as well as customers visiting the site.
John Allen, the last owner of the bakery before its closure, spent decades waking at 2am to start baking each morning to open at 6am - a feat that landed the bakery a recommendation in celebrity chef's Rick Stein's Food Heroes in 2002.
Cole & Co
Family-run business Cole & Co had been trading for 22 years, selling affordable handmade luxury toiletries and home fragrances from Whitchurch Road. The store opened in November 2019, just a few months before the pandemic. The shop announced its closure in February this year in a Facebook post.
"It has been an extremely difficult time for us as a business and as a family and we did everything possible to keep the business going, but unfortunately Covid-19 was the final straw and we weren't able to recover," the post on January 30 read. It continued: "We are absolutely heartbroken to have had our journey cut short so suddenly, and it will take time for us to come to terms with it ourselves."
They also gave a heartfelt thanks to customers for their continued support. The brand now operates from its Beaumaris shop and website under new owners.
Splott Market
It may not be a shop but Splott Market traders saw their final day of trading in August this year. The market had been running for over 40 years when it closed its doors for the last time. The site is set to become the new home for Willows High School, which is moving from its current building in Tremorfa.
Over the years, the market opened on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, selling a wide range of goods from fruit and vegetables to shoes and handbags. Traders packed up their stock for the final time on August 28.
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