Mannetti’s is a café in the centre of York. It opened in Lendal in 2019. And four years later, after navigating the pandemic and rising energy costs, it started to turn a profit.
But just as that moment came, fences were erected outside, and the street sealed off. Why? So sliding bollards could be installed across the city centre to protect those in it from would-be terrorists trying to drive a vehicle into busy pedestrianised streets.
Marie Milburn, a director of Mannetti’s, claimed she was only told about the work days before it started, meaning she was unable to plan ahead.
Lendal was closed for seven weeks in total while the bollards were installed.
During that time, from late April to June in 2023, Ms Milburn said the café’s takings fell by 80 per cent as footfall dropped in the street. She even decided to close the business for a week during the work rather than face more loses.
“At one point you couldn’t even see us,” she said, adding that one day she sold a single coffee.
Recommended reading:
- Bollardgate: Looking back at the first year of York’s new security measures
- ‘We are potentially going to go under’ – York café boss hits out at ongoing work
- 'We don’t stand a chance’ - York business owners fear for future amid street closure
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