Cafe considers changing opening hours in heatwaves

The owner of a cafe forced to close during a record-breaking heatwave last month says he is having to consider changing his opening hours.

Bowring Park Cafe, in Wellington, shut for two days as temperatures soared across the UK, as it became the warmest June on record.

Owner David Cheshire said he could appreciate how hard it had been for his employees as he also worked in the kitchen. Other Shropshire food retailers are also considering revising opening hours.

Cheshire added that he was trying to "introduce new practices to become more accustomed to the heat" with an option being to open the cafe earlier and only serve hot food at the start of the day "to try and get the temperature down".

While there is no maximum workplace temperature in law in the UK, employers are expected to keep indoor workplaces at a "reasonable temperature", according to UK Parliament.

"It is tough, it is very very hot and we are conscious of that," Cheshire said.

The cafe's employees welcomed the closure as temperatures reached new heights.

Elizabeth Worthington said: "It reached about 40 degrees in the kitchen which is insane, we just couldn't cope with that amount of heat and the work that was coming in".

"It was a lot to handle so it was sensible decision to close and one that we were very grateful for," she added.

"I really praise the boss for doing that for us, it gave us some down time and let us have a break from the heat," Julie Clapperton said.

Cheshire said although the closure resulted in the loss of two days revenue, "trade dropped off because of the excess heat anyway".

"Our customers come out earlier when it's hotter, so during the peak heat it's actually a lot quieter," he said.

"We might sell a few more ice creams, but we're strongly food-led, so our sales of breakfast sandwiches and cooked breakfast drop off."

Another Shropshire hospitality business, The Fox and Hounds in Shawbury, said their trade had also been impacted during hot weather.

"Not as many customers are eating as we would've liked," Gemma North, general manager, said.

She agreed she may also need to change the pub's opening hours or close the kitchen and described the heat as "horrendous for staff".

Cheshire said with heatwaves becoming "more frequent" he had to "review the temperature everyday" to decide if it was safe to open.

He added it was difficult to prepare for the heat and encouraged staff to take regular breaks, drink water and wrap cool towels around their wrists.

"We're all learning," the cafe owner said.

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