Pasta takeaway 'dream' ends after bitter blows

AN INDEPENDENT pasta takeaway business serving customers for more than a decade has had to shut permanently - with the owner citing the economy and its impact on small business as the reason.

- ELLIE GOSLEY

Chloe Evans, who owns Lilo’s, said the economy was “so bad” at the moment for small businesses that she feared she was just one of “many that will start closing its doors.”

On top of already rising costs, Chloe said a road closure for non-emergency gas works that forced her to shut her business over the Easter bank holiday - one of her “busiest times of the year” ~ was the final straw.

Lilo’s was based on The Square in Pencoed, near Bridgend, and Chloe claimed a road closure by Wales & West Utilities over the Easter bank holiday, from Friday, April 18, to Monday, April 21, meant she had to close her business. Chloe said she lost around £4,000 as a result.

She felt the decision to do the non-emergency works during a busy trading period showed a “lack of consideration” for smaller businesses.

Wales & West Utilities said it worked closely with Bridgend Council to ensure the works were happening at a suitable time and apologised for any inconvenience caused.

She claimed: “It was just annoying. It was planned works so it didn’t make sense why they would disrupt a business's trade over the busiest bank holiday that I have?” She felt they had no consideration for her and it didn’t seem fair what they were doing.

Chloe added that it was frustrating not to be contacted by Wales & West Utilities directly ahead of the closure. Instead, she claimed she found out via a note stuck on a lamppost.

On April 18, Chloe opened the shop as usual but due to the road being shut to all traffic there was little passing trade, so she made the decision to close at noon.

“By that time, we'd taken such little money, we made the decision to close. If the day had continued like that, I wasn’t going to be able to cover the staff wages, let alone the rent or food bills. Delivery drivers assigned themselves to our order and then obviously saw the roadworks and declined it, so we were left with orders that couldn’t go out too.”