'Times are hard for everybody': Cork bakery joins list of small businesses closing down

AN INDEPENDENT bakery in Clonakilty has become the latest small business to close its doors due to rising costs.

Owner Samantha Duffy shared the news that Humble Pie would close for good on Friday March 8, writing on social media that she made the decision “with a very heavy heart.”

Speaking to The Echo, she said that the majority of the problem was price increases across the board: “The sugar, flour, butter, all these things I need for baking”.

“Last year my electricity bill went from €150 a month to €580 a month, and it still hasn’t gone back down to what it was,” she said, explaining that she tried turning things off and replacing appliances she thought were using the most electricity.

She is the only staff member most of the time, though her husband and mother help out on Saturdays and for the lunchtime rush, but she said: “I haven’t taken a wage in about 18 months”.

“Times are hard for everybody. When I started up I wanted to provide home-cooked food for affordable prices, and I cant do that anymore,” she said.

Humble Pie is near to Clonakilty Community College secondary school, and she said that a lot of the students come in for a jacket potato or shepherd’s pie for their lunch, explaining “they’ve only got a certain amount of money”.

“They keep saying ‘where are we going to go for our lunch now?’. I have girls that come every Saturday after soccer with their dad and they’re all upset, I had one lady crying on Saturday, she brought us flowers and chocolates.”

Clonakilty is a popular holiday spot, and Ms Duffy explained that tourists also love the café, with some even buying pies to take back up to Dublin with them.

“I feel supported by the community, but I don’t feel supported by the Government,” she explained, saying that small businesses should have been included in the electricity credit, or help with rent could have been provided.

Though the shop will be closed as of next week, Ms Duffy will continue to take cake and catering orders, with the social media pages for Humble Pie changing to Cakes by Samantha, as she explained that she has orders for events all the way to August.

“Some of these people ordered last October for communions, confirmations or weddings, so I’m not going to let them down — I contacted all of them before I broke the news that I was closing because I didn’t want them to panic,” she said, adding: “I’ve had a load of people asking will I still do their Christmas orders.”