The proprietor of Siop Nain, Rebecca Cobbett Rayment, is very bitter at the way her plight and the closure of her café seems to have gone almost unnoticed. In spite of a huge rally of support on Facebook, there's been no other interest, neither from the print media nor the town itself. Is this fair, after some 50 years of trading?
According to one unnamed town councillor, an issue is that the proprietress has used Facebook herself to berate the town. We don't know whether this is true but, if so, this has done little to endear her or her cause.
Chief among the problems she blames for the closure is the banking situation. £15,000 down in turnover during the six month period between May and November 2018, in the midst of which the Nat West closed, is serious. Rebecca feels that people are now migrating (more?) to Yr Wyddgrug/Mold to do their banking and that more will follow in a week's time when Barclay's closes. When banking elsewhere, people will also shop—and lunch—elsewhere and not in Rhuthun/Ruthin.
Mind you, she does come up with some utter nonsense. She may feel it is a "disgrace" that, other than the 40-mile round trip to'r Rhyl, people have to leave Denbighshire to bank (in Yr Wyddgrug). As if county boundaries matter: 22 years ago, Rhuthun, Y Rhyl and Yr Wyddgrug were in the same county and 45 years ago Rhyl as well as Yr Wyddgrug were in Flintshire with Rhuthun in Denbighshire! No, that's not the issue, at all. It's one of appropriate access to banking in general, not online, not via the queues at the post office, not once-a-week waiting in the rain at a van—but actually at a banking building.
Mrs Cobbett Rayment also blames parking, both on- and off-street. There should be no charges in a welcoming town (and all the spaces would be blocked by the likes of Rebecca and her co-workers). And whoever designed the double yellow lines on the upper section Well Street needs their head examined. That there has always been single yellow lines—preventing parking during business hours—seems to have escaped her notice. Perhaps she welcomes the traffic chaos to which a light- or no-touch regime would lead.
Ultimately, this was a successful café business in the hands of the Davies for nearly 37 years, with Rebecca taking over five years ago. The reasons for closure are many and varied. Footfall is certainly dipping. The banks aren't helping. Yet, as we've said, the café hasn't been modernised & tastes change; and not to mention reports of Facebook indiscretions. It ain't easy out there but nonetheless some things continue to be in the hands of business owners themselves.
Looking forlorn
According to one unnamed town councillor, an issue is that the proprietress has used Facebook herself to berate the town. We don't know whether this is true but, if so, this has done little to endear her or her cause.
Mind you, she does come up with some utter nonsense. She may feel it is a "disgrace" that, other than the 40-mile round trip to'r Rhyl, people have to leave Denbighshire to bank (in Yr Wyddgrug). As if county boundaries matter: 22 years ago, Rhuthun, Y Rhyl and Yr Wyddgrug were in the same county and 45 years ago Rhyl as well as Yr Wyddgrug were in Flintshire with Rhuthun in Denbighshire! No, that's not the issue, at all. It's one of appropriate access to banking in general, not online, not via the queues at the post office, not once-a-week waiting in the rain at a van—but actually at a banking building.
Mrs Cobbett Rayment also blames parking, both on- and off-street. There should be no charges in a welcoming town (and all the spaces would be blocked by the likes of Rebecca and her co-workers). And whoever designed the double yellow lines on the upper section Well Street needs their head examined. That there has always been single yellow lines—preventing parking during business hours—seems to have escaped her notice. Perhaps she welcomes the traffic chaos to which a light- or no-touch regime would lead.
Ultimately, this was a successful café business in the hands of the Davies for nearly 37 years, with Rebecca taking over five years ago. The reasons for closure are many and varied. Footfall is certainly dipping. The banks aren't helping. Yet, as we've said, the café hasn't been modernised & tastes change; and not to mention reports of Facebook indiscretions. It ain't easy out there but nonetheless some things continue to be in the hands of business owners themselves.