Cost- of- living crisis forces popular city cafe to close
ACAFE and wine bar in Glasgow will close amid the cost- of- living crisis. Sinclairs Battlefield announced the ‘ sad news’ yesterday that it would be permanently closing on January 22.
Owners described a ‘ trifecta of difficulties’ leading to the closure, including the ‘ downturn’ in the economy, ‘ extreme’ energy costs, and a flood in December that seriously affected the business.
In a post shared on their Facebook page on Tuesday, owners thanked their amazing staff and the Battlefield community as they shared the bombshell statement.
They wrote: “Good morning Battlefield. Unfortunately, we have some sad news to share with you all this morning.
“We have had to make the extremely difficult decision to close our wee cafe indefinitely. This has been largely due to a trifecta of difficulties.
“The downturn in the economy, the extreme energy costs we are currently facing, and finally the impact of having our pipes freeze and the subsequent flooding of the shop in December.”
The Sinclair Drive brunch spot acknowledged that the trade had not been what they expected during the week despite busy weekends.
They wrote: “We have loved being a part of the Battlefield community, all the support we have received has been amazing.
“And while our weekends were rocking, our weekday trade was sadly not maintaining a sustainable level for us to continue.
“We would like to say thank you again to our awesome community, and we will really miss seeing all your familiar faces every day. We would also like to especially thank our amazing team who really are the heart and soul of Sinclairs, and created the welcoming, fantastic atmosphere that defines what Sinclairs has come to be.
“From the smiley faces out front to the grumpy chefs in the back, it is a fantastic team and we’ll miss the craic.”
Customers still have a chance to visit Sinclairs before the permanent closure and the cafe will be operating normal working hours until January 22. They wrote: “We will be continuing with our normal operating hours up until Sunday, January 22.
“There might be some menu tweaks as we run down our final week, but as always there will be some banging specials on the board to substitute.
“We would like to urge anyone with a voucher to book in as soon as possible.”
In an emotional sign- off, the owners expressed how hard they had tried to save the cafe before the ‘ difficult’ decision to close.
They wrote: “This has been a difficult post to write, and we can’t convey how deeply saddened we are at having to write it.
“We tried, we tried some more, and then we tried again.
“We hope and look forward to seeing you all before the 23rd, and just wanted to say once more, Thank you.”
We have loved being part of the Battlefield community, all the support we have received has been amazing
ent representatives we hope that a positive solution can be found that will minimise any further disruption to children and young people’s learning.”
The Scottish Government has previously stated it would work with COSLA to do all possible to ensure an agreement was met.
Meanwhile, staff congregated at picket lines across the city and EIS union members met in Buchanan
Street to rally against the pay offer.
Education secretary ShirleyAnne Somerville said: “I was grateful for the constructive and helpful talks with the teaching unions and COSLA on Friday.
“I took the opportunity to make clear how much I value our teaching workforce and recognise the vital importance of reaching a fair and affordable settlement on pay.
“We are open to considering options to resolve this dispute, through the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers ( SNCT), and the potential scope for compromise.
“I recognise that any deal must be fair and affordable for all concerned, given the unprecedented pressures facing Scotland’s Budget.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The SNCT meeting provided a crucial opportunity to further discuss potential areas for agreement.
“While there was a shared understanding that the talks were focused on examining options for compromise, rather than tabling a new offer, the dialogue was constructive.
“The Scottish Government continues to urge teaching unions to reconsider their plans for industrial action while talks are ongoing.
“Strikes in our schools are in noone’s interest – including for pupils, parents and carers who have already had to deal with significant disruption over the past three years.
“We value our teaching workforce and recognise the vital importance of an agreement on pay, but we cannot escape the unprecedented pressures facing Scotland’s Budget.
“While we have been clear that a 10% pay increase is unaffordable within the Scottish Government’s fixed Budget, we remain absolutely committed to a fair and sustainable pay deal.”