“We are sad that we’ve had to take this route.”
After nine years in business, Ground café in Sandyford Village have suddenly closed their doors. Their social media platforms and website for the café have all been deleted, with a Facebook post from the group Sandyford Village breaking the news to locals.
Attached to Ground is a sign that explains the reason behind their sudden closure:
“After almost 9 years serving the village of Sandyford, we are disappointed to say that we have no had to close our doors due to the increasing costs across the board.
We would like to thank all of our valued customers for the support that you have given us over the years and we are sad that we’ve had to take this route.”
Customers have taken to the comments of Sandyford Village’s post with their disappointment at the news. One said, “Saddest news ever. Just loved that place and the staff were so friendly” while another said, “Good luck for the future. Loved going to Ground will be very much missed.”
The effect of the higher VAT rate on Irish hospitality businesses
While there has been seemingly more openers than closures in Dublin recently, the hospitality VAT rate increasing from 9% to 13.5% is likely to have an undesirable affect on the industry.
Chief Executive of the Restaurant Association of Ireland Adrian Cummins warned the return to the higher VAT rate would be “the final nail in the coffin for many small cafes, restaurants and food led pubs” as businesses would be forced to either hike up their prices in response, try to absorb the cost, and some would be unable to continue trading at all.
We unfortunately don’t think this Ground be the last Dublin hospitality business to close in the wake of the new VAT rate.
Header image via Tripadvisor
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