Hop Hideout at Kommune. Photo by Mark Newton
NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS? A mixed bag for indie trade in Sheffield
C
an local independent businesses succeed in Sheffield or does the city itself make it hard for them to survive? There are shiny new shopfronts on the Moor, but while Marmadukes Two café opened last month on Cambridge Street, chains like Next and H&M have merely moved from Fargate. Abbeydale Road has gained Two Thirds Beer Company, The Teller and Krydda but lost The Rude Shipyard. Staying afloat in Kelham Island isn’t necessarily easier; The Gatehouse, Pa’s Bistro and Noosa Café have all closed within the past six months. At street level, it’s difficult to tell how many ventures last 10
in the long term. Last year, The Guardian reported that the city centre had seen 18% of its stores shut since 2013, though Sheffield City Council disputes the paper’s interpretation. In November, James O’Hara – whose venues include Picture House Social, Gatsby, and the Ambulo cafes at Millennium Gallery and Weston Park Museum – slammed a 730% increase in business rates at his award-winning bar Public. O’Hara’s tweets also raised a crucial question for local outlets. “The customer base for something different doesn’t exist,” he said. “The ‘build it and they will come’ adage doesn’t really hold true in Sheffield.”
