Honesty Group’s café at Saddleback Farm Shop to close its doors

A café inside a village farm shop will close at the end of the month.

Honesty Group is ending its partnership with Saddleback Farm Shop due to rising energy costs and staff shortages.

The café, located between Brightwalton and Farnborough, will shut on January 31 after four-and-a-half years of trading.

An Honesty spokesperson said: “The group is sad to be ending the partnership and wish Saddleback Farm Shop and the owners the very best for whatever future route they decide to take.

“We would like to thank all our loyal customers in and around the area who have supported us since we opened in 2019.

“Our staff are our priority, and we will continue to support them through this period.”

Honesty Group chief executive Romilla Arber added: “I, of course, regret having to close Saddleback, primarily because it is always sad to lose staff.

“Covid and its effects went on for almost three years. We were then faced with rising costs across the board.

“There was also the issue of a shortage of butchers, which made it impossible to keep the butchery open.

“Despite everyone’s good intentions ‘to shop locally’, during a cost-of-living crisis this isn’t always possible and when things are tight people turn to supermarkets, which is understandable.

“Our lease was coming to an end, so the beginning of this year felt the appropriate time to close.”

While some customers were sorry to see the café go, others welcomed the shop’s return to independence.

Damien Goatley posted online saying: “I am sure if this continues to open as an independent with the great choices of local meats, fresh produce and other locally sourced products, it will come alive again.”

“I really hope Saddleback is going to continue as an independent café again,” added Georgina Cook.

The group confirms its 12 other branches remain open.

Ms Arber also revealed plans for some new openings this year, concentrating on the coffee shop side of the business.