It's been a while since we've mentioned cafés and certainly quite an interval since we've commented upon them in the context of prosperity. On the basis that the wealthier we are, the more time & money we spend in cafés, we've previously used the number of cafés per thousand as one of two proxies for prosperity.
So, in 2009, Rhuthun/Ruthin's population was 5,218 and it supported 12 cafés/coffee shops. In 2010, the population was the same and the number of cafés was 10. The number of cafés per thousand population was therefore 2.3 and 1.9 respectively. Or, two coffee shops/cafés for every thousand population, if you will.
In 2010, we felt that this was high when compared to our neighbours Yr Wyddgrug/Mold (1.5 per thousand population) and Dinbych (managing just 0.7). Dinbych, of course, has a café within Morrison's and this may affect town coffee shops. Rhuthun Tesco does not.
Fast-forward to 2015. Annie's has morphed into the Seasonal Kitchen and no longer opens during the day as a café. Rather, it trades as a restaurant at night. Crown House Café didn't reopen after Christmas. A new cupcake shop did and it may be stretching a point but it does have at least two tables, so you can sit in for coffee—and it's plain to see from this above shot that coffee features.
The 2015 Rhuthun tally, not including the oddly named Café Doof on Lôn Parcwr (formerly Vale Café and before that Tanzaro's), is as follows:
Castle Park Café; Bar Llaeth; Costa; Siop Nain [once under Davies for many years but under new management in 2014]; Chatwin's; W & G Jones; Caffi Rh/Café R; Gail's; Delightful Cupcakes.
That totals nine. The equivalent number per thousand population is therefore 1.7. That's a reduction of a quater. But hang on. In the meantime, Rhuthun's population has increased by 4.7 per cent.
Dinbych's coffee shop tally is seven and with a population of 9,885, the number per thousand is static at the much-lower-than-Rhuthun figure of 0.7.
Since the 2010 survey, Costa has joined Rhuthun. It's to coffee what Tesco is to groceries and Wetherspoon's to beer: a category killer. Costa's certainly offers top quality coffee (and some rather nice cake) but it hasn't everything its own way. The post-fire refurbished Chatwin's is just as good (whose new logo even looks like Starbuck's).
We can only assume that Crown House has been a Costa casualty. The same reason may underpin the changes at the Seasonal Kitchen (in other words, there is or was an oversupply). The truth about Costa, though, is that it never seems that full (though, unlike the others, it is bigger so seems emptier). But it probably doesn't take a transfer of many customers in Costa's favour to have an effect elsewhere. At least Costa trades later than the desperately early closing of most other establishments. It's also open on a Sunday, too, along with Bar Llaeth and Caffi Rh.
The fact that, post Costa, no more have closed suggests that either:
Finally, it looks like the Seven Oaks garden centre will shortly be offering coffee and food. After all, visit any larger garden centre such as Bellis's or Bridgemere and you'll find a café. Seven Oaks isn't quite on that scale but nonetheless espied there was a collection of stacked tables and chairs…
Curtain down at Tŷ Goron/Crown House from January
So, in 2009, Rhuthun/Ruthin's population was 5,218 and it supported 12 cafés/coffee shops. In 2010, the population was the same and the number of cafés was 10. The number of cafés per thousand population was therefore 2.3 and 1.9 respectively. Or, two coffee shops/cafés for every thousand population, if you will.
In 2010, we felt that this was high when compared to our neighbours Yr Wyddgrug/Mold (1.5 per thousand population) and Dinbych (managing just 0.7). Dinbych, of course, has a café within Morrison's and this may affect town coffee shops. Rhuthun Tesco does not.
The 2015 Rhuthun tally, not including the oddly named Café Doof on Lôn Parcwr (formerly Vale Café and before that Tanzaro's), is as follows:
Castle Park Café; Bar Llaeth; Costa; Siop Nain [once under Davies for many years but under new management in 2014]; Chatwin's; W & G Jones; Caffi Rh/Café R; Gail's; Delightful Cupcakes.
That totals nine. The equivalent number per thousand population is therefore 1.7. That's a reduction of a quater. But hang on. In the meantime, Rhuthun's population has increased by 4.7 per cent.
Dinbych's coffee shop tally is seven and with a population of 9,885, the number per thousand is static at the much-lower-than-Rhuthun figure of 0.7.
Since the 2010 survey, Costa has joined Rhuthun. It's to coffee what Tesco is to groceries and Wetherspoon's to beer: a category killer. Costa's certainly offers top quality coffee (and some rather nice cake) but it hasn't everything its own way. The post-fire refurbished Chatwin's is just as good (whose new logo even looks like Starbuck's).
Tanzaro, complete with van with Rhuthun phone number
We can only assume that Crown House has been a Costa casualty. The same reason may underpin the changes at the Seasonal Kitchen (in other words, there is or was an oversupply). The truth about Costa, though, is that it never seems that full (though, unlike the others, it is bigger so seems emptier). But it probably doesn't take a transfer of many customers in Costa's favour to have an effect elsewhere. At least Costa trades later than the desperately early closing of most other establishments. It's also open on a Sunday, too, along with Bar Llaeth and Caffi Rh.
The fact that, post Costa, no more have closed suggests that either:
- The overall coffee market is indeed growing as expected & can therefore sustain Costa and those others remaining at the present level of nine; or
- Rhuthun's population is more conservative in its approach to coffee and drinks at other than Costa's.
Tags:
Prosperity