Paul Sharkey, chef of Artisan Café and Bistro in Bray, talks about how he is dealing with rising product costs and minimum wages for his brigade, amidst difficulties and unexpected challenges.
The News
Unbelievable, but true: the chef of one of Bray's most famous bistros declared at the beginning of the year that he had to close in the evenings, hoping to address the numerous economic problems of recent times and then normalize hours in the spring. We're talking about Paul Sharkey, in the industry for 30 years and currently the cook at Artisan Café and Bistro in Bray, launched just over a year ago by Joanne Kong and Gerry Chen.
Although the company has done its best to keep menu prices low, it's now in trouble due to staff shortages, rising product costs, and increases in VAT and minimum wage, as reported by the Irish Independent. "Staff shortages are a big problem, we have to look for them. And the various costs related to the restaurant are another problem, they keep increasing every week. It's getting out of hand, even though fortunately bills have decreased a bit (not by much). On the other hand, minimum wages have increased," says the chef.
The €1.40 per hour increase came into effect on January 1, 2024, with a 12% increase to €12.70 per hour. This move was supposed to attract more resources in sectors like hospitality. But Paul hasn't seen the signs yet. "It's very difficult to find staff and often they leave; for example, a staff member will be leaving for Australia soon," he continues. Paul explained that his wife has been serving as the front-of-house manager in the past year, "doing myself a favor," but now he needs to focus on other matters. He worked until the week before Christmas; afterwards, the restaurant found itself with no one capable of running it in the evenings. "We'll keep the café open and, hopefully, if we manage to hire another full-time staff member, we'll stay open seven days a week," says Paul.
In terms of foot traffic, during the day there's enough to cover lunch expenses, thanks to a fairly significant flow of people from the nearby Primary Care Centre and the courthouse, and there are regular customers coming in; but in the evening for dinner, this income source decreases significantly. While there is no shortage of positive reviews and praises for the restaurant, most diners in Bray see it as an occasional night out and don't return frequently enough to support it.
"It's tough," Paul said referring to the hospitality industry in general at this time. "I'm looking at other bars and venues closing, it's not getting easier to move forward. We're not the only ones out there suffering and I think there will be many more soon. VAT has risen to 13.5%, which has absolutely paralyzed small businesses. Going from 9% to 13.5% was a huge leap, along with everything else."
The bistro held some big parties in December to make money, but it was inevitable that such increases would be reflected in higher prices for the customer. "Throughout the first year of opening, we didn't increase prices," says Paul. "When we finally did, people said we were too expensive. But we're still cheaper than many other places. I hope it's not forever. I want the restaurant to reopen at full capacity, I believe it will and that I'll get to the point where I can settle accounts with suppliers. I'm aiming for April or May."
