Station cafe closing - local issues or general shrinkage?

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From The Bury Free Press

The manager of Bury St Edmunds railway station’s cafe said he will miss ‘helping passengers’ when the amenity shuts.

Off The Rails, on platform 2 - where trains depart for Ipswich, opened in November 2011 and is the only place to buy a coffee, tea, or a snack at the station.

But it is set to close on Friday (August 30) because of a ‘lack of trade’ and ‘high business rates’.

... and yet ... the article talks of a growing station ...

Question - is the use of station cafes and refreshment rooms generally reducing, or are there specific local issues on this one?    Can we translate / take any lessons to (for example) Melksham where plans include such a facility

[ChrisB]

Passenger flows I reckon.

The station platforms are above ground, with separate staircases/lifts to each platform, coupled with either Ipswich or Cambridge as destinations (other stations are between each of these, but really aren't destinations in their own right)

IN my experience of using Bury from the Ipswich direction, the major passenger flow is towards Cambridge, rather than Ipswich - and it's a real drag going over to the Ipswich platform idf you're going to Cambridge....I also suspect the operator has increased the rent, but I don't know for sure. It's a good little cafe though....

[johnneyw]

Rental charges were a problem for the lovely Mrs Foley's Tea Rooms in the equally lovely Great Malvern Station according to a chat I had with the proprietor a year or so back but a sensible arrangement was arrived at eventuality according to her. It might however, have been a factor in the regrettable closure of the florists next door in the same station building.

[infoman]

I think its too do with Managers coming for a very short period of time.

They try to cut their budgets and increase revenue,then when the leave they THINK that they have been succesfull

[johnneyw]

I think its too do with Managers coming for a very short period of time.

They try to cut their budgets and increase revenue,then when the leave they THINK that they have been succesfull

I've seen that all too often in companies I've worked for. They always managed to jump ship before the chickens came home to roost.