30/10/2026
WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING TO OUR WORLD?
Following another Budget, we find ourselves asking a question that so many small independent businesses are asking right now.
How much more can we possibly take?
Patons bite is a small, family run, independent place . We’re not a big chain, we don’t have a huge corporation behind us and we certainly don’t have endless money sitting in the bank to fall back on
We work incredibly hard, put our hearts into what we do, employ local people, support our community and try to make a genuine difference to the people around us.
But the reality of running a hospitality business in today’s world is becoming increasingly difficult.
Wages are rising. Employers’ National Insurance is another huge expense. Electricity bills are eye watering. Food prices continue to climb, and every single ingredient we buy costs more than it used to.
We completely understand that people deserve fair wages. Of course they do. Our staff work hard, and we want people to be paid fairly for the work they do.
But somebody has to find the money to cover all these rising costs, and for small businesses like ours, there is only so much we can absorb before the numbers simply stop adding up.
We can’t keep putting our prices up and expect our customers to pick up the bill. Our customers are feeling the squeeze too. Families are struggling, pensioners are watching every penny, and even something as simple as popping out for a breakfast or a hot
lunch is becoming harder to justify for some people.
And that genuinely hurts, because we want Patons bite to be somewhere people can afford to enjoy, not somewhere they feel they can no longer come.
the truth is, good intentions don’t pay the electricity bill. Hard work doesn’t cancel out rising costs, and loving what you do doesn’t magically make the figures balance.
We don’t expect running a business to be easy. We know what we signed up for. We know the long hours, the early starts, the physical work and the sacrifices that come with hospitality.
But surely there has to come a point where we ask whether the people running these small independent businesses are being given a fair chance to survive?
Behind every little cafe, independent shop, pub and restaurant are real people. Families, staff, livelihoods and years of hard work. These aren’t faceless corporations. These are people who live in your communities, who employ your neighbours and who often go above and beyond to help others, even when they’re struggling themselves.
We aren’t asking for sympathy, and we’re certainly not asking anyone to spend money they haven’t got.
We’re simply asking people to understand the pressure small businesses are under and to keep supporting them wherever and whenever they can.
Every breakfast ordered, every coffee bought, every takeaway collected and every recommendation shared really does make a difference.
We love our little place . We’re proud of what we’ve built,
But we would be lying if we said we weren’t worried about the future of independent hospitality.
How many more small businesses have to close their doors before people realise just how much they’re losing?
Please keep supporting your local independents. Not just us, but every little business in your community that’s doing its best to keep going.
Because once they’re gone, they’re gone. ❤️
From our family to yours, thank you for continuing to support Patons bite . It means more than you know.
