Family run cafe closes

A family run cafe has closed its door after trading in the town centre for four and a half years.

Cook & Baker opened at 12 Alderley Road in July 2013, in the premises which was previously occupied by estate agents Spencer Knight.

The patisserie and coffee shop was the first retail operation for the Holt family whose wholesale business Cream Patisserie has supplied a number of hotels and restaurants as well as Manchester United Football Club.

12 Alderley Road is available to rent from Orbit-Developments for £2,500 pcm.

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Comments

Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.

Oliver Romain
Monday 18th December 2017 at 10:34 pm
It seemed quirky and interesting at first but stopped going when they charged sixty pence extra for milk with coffee. You can milk some of the people some of the time but not all of the people etc..
DELETED ACCOUNT
Tuesday 19th December 2017 at 8:36 am
It is sad when any shop closes, but particularly when it is a family business. Do you think we could persuade Weinholts in Alderley to take it on? At one time Weinholts when it was in Cheadle, had the Premier Cafe above. Weinholts cakes are to die for. Vanilla slices, rum infused chocolate logs, proper croissants. Why should the footballers of Alderley have the best?
Manuel Golding
Tuesday 19th December 2017 at 11:23 am
Jackie, do you mean the Alderley shop location is an own goal?
Jon Williams
Tuesday 19th December 2017 at 12:19 pm
It would be too expensive for Wilmslow !
David Pearce
Tuesday 19th December 2017 at 3:12 pm
Remember the Simon Dunn Chocolatier publicity surrounding the closure back in 2013. Being next door but 2 to Cook & Baker premises that business was forced to give up the ghost after ending up with net £100/week after rent, rates, tax & staff costs. Takes an awful lot of coffee & cake sales to cover a £30k/year rent + + before ending up with anything to show for all the effort.
James Hanson
Tuesday 19th December 2017 at 3:48 pm
It is always very sad when any independent shop closes it doors

Sadly David is quite right - the rents charged by some landlords in Wilmslow make it impossible for most independent shops to make it in Wilmslow


If the people of Wilmslow want small independent shops and cafes
- they have to SUPPORT them by shopping in them
- but we see the multinational chains full of people every day

SO WILMSLOW MAKE THE EFFORT AND SHOP LOCAL

and you will get the town you want

The answer is a simple as that
Peter Evans
Tuesday 19th December 2017 at 7:54 pm
James - people have a free choice. And retailers have the freedom to offer products and services they want to too. The fact that people choose the multi national brands is an unfortunate reflection that maybe the independents aren't offering what people want. I would always pick an independent coffee shop (in fact in Wilmslow I do, but for the reasons outlined here & on the Facebook feed by others, never in Cook & Baker after my first experience). The MNs have the same massive overheads, the landlords seem happy to accept the turn over and empty premises (no, I cannot understand that either), and we have had our fair share of MN brands leave town (e.g. Fat Face, Phase 8 etc).
Simon Pollard
Tuesday 19th December 2017 at 10:06 pm
Landlords in the plural? Are there any landlords other than Orbit/Emerson/Jones? How has one group managed to get such a stranglehold on Wilmslow?
Simon Pollard
Tuesday 19th December 2017 at 10:13 pm
Landlords in the plural? Are there any landlords other than Orbit/Emerson/Jones? How has one group managed to get such a stranglehold on Wilmslow?
Oliver Romain
Tuesday 19th December 2017 at 10:23 pm
National chains do well because they know what they are doing. I will shop with (not support) independent retailers, but they have to want the business and focus on customers needs.
I would not eat at Cook and Baker because the food was at the till with no spit guard. Yuk!
Landlords have nothing to do with it. The number of empty shops is about right. If they are all full rents will go up not down. Supply and demand.
Jon Armstrong
Wednesday 20th December 2017 at 7:10 am
Simon Dunn had good PR in that he successfully managed to turn to conversation away from his chain's poor food hygiene scores by bleating to the press the failure was down to anyone's fault but his.

A quick Google shows things haven't improved much... In the last two years his Preston shop scored 0/5 and his Stockport shop 1/5.
Marc Staples
Wednesday 20th December 2017 at 10:28 am
Its a shame but it was simply too expensive! What we need is a good café that serves up a great full English for less than £6.00 and traditional meals during the day at a reasonable cost.
Yes there is the Konak but a family of 4 wont get any change from £40.00 for breakfast on a Saturday morning.
Just because its Wilmslow doesn't mean we are all mugs that are happy to pay ridiculous prices for things we can buy elsewhere for a lot less !!!
Pete Taylor
Wednesday 20th December 2017 at 12:20 pm
I cannot claim to be a frequenter of any cafes in Wilmslow but have noticed the one in the arcade near Vikings looks both traditional (no frills/yummy mummies) and reasonably priced.
Deleted Account
Wednesday 20th December 2017 at 8:32 pm
Hello Olive Romain,

You say that "National chains do well because they know what they are doing"

What's your source please information ?


Secondly you say "....I will shop with (not support) independent retailers" ?

Are we missing something here ? Isn't shopping with and supporting one and the same. Surely....
Marc Staples
Thursday 21st December 2017 at 5:22 pm
Good evening Pete

You are correct there is one in the parade but its only very small and has no outside space to speak of. Konak have got it right and there is outside space too. You have to queue to get in sometimes as the food is great . But as I said its the best part of £40.00 for breakfast for a family of 4 so somewhere with more reasonable prices with the outside space should thrive in my opinion.
Simon Worthington
Wednesday 27th December 2017 at 11:30 am
£40 for breakfast for four!! £7 VAT to start with. Leaves £33. Doesn't sound quite so much now. Four people in for an hour or so with multiple trips to their table, several plates, mugs, pans and cutlery to wash, heating and lighting to pay, toilets to provide, insurance and HUGE rent and rates. No wonder the cafe closed as it was doomed from day 1 - who writes the business plans for all these failed businesses?
Tip to the snowflakes - forget going out for breakfast/brunch and cook your own, avoid coffee shops etc. and watch your savings grow!!
Oliver Romain
Thursday 28th December 2017 at 12:06 am
Martin when we are shopping and eating out we make choices based on our individual values. No I won’t ‘support’ a local shop any more than I would ‘support’ any other local or national business any more than they support us by offering services. I may prefer to buy local but I, like most people, will not pay extra to a business just because it is local or independently owned. Support is what you do to charities.
We are consumers not supporters. Consumers will try new venues for novelty and because we want variety, but if service and value is not right we don’t come back.
If shops price right and offer what people want, when they want it, they will succeed regardless of size.
I actually really want a diverse high street but am not sentimental about the real drivers of retail.
Jon Williams
Thursday 28th December 2017 at 9:49 am
In 1990 you could get a cooked breakfast for £1 at Glossop's Co-op !
Deleted Account
Thursday 28th December 2017 at 8:48 pm
Hi Oliver,

Sorry to be a pedant but really how do you "shop with (not support) independent retailers " ?

Surely they are one and the same....
Oliver Romain
Friday 29th December 2017 at 10:46 am
Martin. Glad to help. They are two distinct words with different meanings. Shopping is when you exchange money for supplies or services rendered. People don’t go to Tesco to do some supporting they go to do shopping.
Deleted Account
Friday 29th December 2017 at 6:20 pm
Greetings Oliver !

We have shown your comments to a number of others.

But nobody can quite understand the distinctions you are drawing.

Anyway here's to better things to focus on. There's a turkey to pick at for a start.

Keep on shopping and / or supporting in 2018 (in whichever order)
Oliver Romain
Friday 29th December 2017 at 10:46 pm
Martin. I thought I was responding politely to someone someone with a limited grasp of English, obviously I was mistaken. You are an expert, or do I mean idiot, it’s confusing isn’t it, when you have two words with such similar meaning. Which to choose?