‘Ain’t no mystery behind the closure’ Cobh cafe closes as prices soar

The latest in a series of restaurant and cafe closures across the country, The Tasty Corner in Cobh has closed its doors for the last time.

Owner Elsa Cabrini has cited the rising cost of produce and energy bills as her reasons for closing. The cafe opened in June 2020, and in their time serving the town of Cobh endured a string of lockdowns as well as flooding last month after adverse weather conditions hit the harbour town. This past summer, the cafe had enjoyed their first busy season of tourist trade with no covid restrictions. Speaking to The Examiner, Elsa described it as "the best (summer) we have had". Sadly, the financial cost of running a business at the moment has meant the cafe had no choice but to close. In a post on Instagram announcing the news, Elsa wrote:

I want to say that ain't no mystery behind the closure. Prices of products are rising too fast and often and the last update of energy bills left me with no choice at all. As a new business, which already endured Covid, this has become, financially speaking, a nightmare.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CjDq9OiMyrp/ Elsa also thanked her staff, and regular customers at the cafe. Speaking to The Examiner about the closure, Italian-born owner Elsa said:

With the energy bill, you are talking about at least three times more in the cost. I was doing the maths and they are talking about a 150% to 200% increase and I just can’t stay open with that.

What would you do? Sell a fry for €15? You can’t do that. People as well are restricting their income and having to restrict the way they are living.

Header image via Instagram/thetastycornercobh READ NEXT: Irish Water investigates "earthy" water reports in Dublin and Wicklow