Frustrated Cobo kiosk tenant is quitting at end of season
THE COBO kiosk leaseholder said he will be saddened to cease trading there later this year, but a combination of factors has left the business untenable for the foreseeable future.
Paul Brazier left the financial sector to enter catering several years ago, initially running a mobile coffee business, before taking on the lease at Cobo in 2015.
The States-owned kiosk was built in the 1970s and Mr Brazier said its structure, positioning and some terms in the concession agreement had gone towards his decision to cut short a planned six-year stint.
‘The building faces into the westerly winds, so even when it’s not that windy we get all of the weather here,’ he said.
Last spring, Mr Brazier applied to build a semi free-standing structure at the front of the kiosk, which would allow him to provide shelter for customers.
But he has yet to hear back from the States’ Trading Supervisory Board, which handled the enquiry.
But that wasn’t the only issue.
‘There just aren’t as many visitors any more. We’ve had less this year and we get to know which customers are local or not. We rely on the local trade outside of the tourist season and to do that we need shelter, unfortunately,’ he said.
Over the last three years, Mr Brazier said, he has been dedicated to providing fresh cakes and a home-made menu for his regulars.
As a result, the kiosk had achieved high user-reviewed ratings online and feedback including a 4.7 out of 5 score on its Facebook page.
With customer numbers low overall, however, a lot of fresh produce ends up going to waste.
‘Someone else might want to buy a frozen gateau and place half in the display cabinet and cut up the rest, but I was keen to bake fresh cakes every day. They only last two or three days maximum and then they have to be binned,’ he said.
There was also the fact that along the approximately 200-metre length of the Cobo Coast Road there are a number of other businesses including the Rockmount, Cobo Bay Hotel, Cobo Fish and Chip Bar and Iceland.
‘The terms of the concession agreement state that we have to be open from 10am-6pm each day. After 5pm, though, everyone just wants chips.
‘We have been very lucky we have a great team, but it is also difficult to hire someone on up to £8/£9 an hour when they can earn £15 an hour in an office.
‘I wish the new leaseholders the very best of luck. We’ve enjoyed every minute of it, but it had become a seven-day-a-week job and we needed time to do other things,’ he said.
Ultimately, Mr Brazier feels the traditional kiosk may have had its day and, although he tried to do something slightly out of the ordinary, perhaps more needed to be done.
‘In the 1970s people just wanted an instant coffee, maybe a piece of fruit cake in plastic wrap, but their tastes have changed,’ he said.
The STSB was unable to comment before going to print.
Mr Brazier’s last day of trading at the kiosk will be 30 September.
