A Darlington "institution" is set to bring down the shutters for good earlier than intended because overheads have become too high and footfall too low to keep the business going. 

Steve and Claire Thompson are going to shut up shop at their eponymous cafe, Steve's, on April 15. The café opened on October 5, 1985, meaning that they have served the community for more than 37 years.

For many of the customers at one of Darlington’s oldest establishments, the news of their closure has been a blow.

But with steep overheads, lower-than-ever footfall in the town centre, as well as retirement just around the corner, the Thompsons want to see the business out on a high note - without having to go into debt to continue trading.

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Reflecting on their tenure at the café, Claire said: “It will be really strange for us to go. We’d have liked to stay over but we just don’t know what the future is.

“We really have had a marvellous time here, and we are happy, but in the last four or five years, it has been a struggle.”

The business has been run by the Thompsons – with additional help from other family members – since Steve bought the shop nearly 40 years ago. Daughter Ashley lent a helping hand throughout her teenage years, and Steve’s father used to open the café early following retirement form his career as a postman.

The Northern Echo: The couple wanted to thank their customers past and present for their support over the years. The couple wanted to thank their customers past and present for their support over the years. (Image: Paul Norris)

Located on Tubwell Row, just under Darlington Market, the café has served up cuppas and bacon butties to a large and diverse set of clients – some of whom have almost become family themselves over the years.

For Steve and Claire, their customers will be the thing they miss most.

Claire said: “We do feel sorry for our regulars, we are really going to miss them. We will all have to meet up and go for coffee somewhere."

Steve added: “Now, we’ve got about 25 regulars who stop by every day, but we’ve had lots over the years – all of them lovely lads.

“They have kept us going.”

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For the couple, the business has not been the same since the pandemic.

“It is all online now, and no one seems to work in the town centre. There just isn’t the same footfall as before, and there is nothing bringing people down this way, down Tubwell Row, any more.

“We could carry on if we were still at the same levels as before lockdown, but everything has changed now.”

Claire added: “We’d have stayed but we just don’t know what the future is. It is best to go now when we are not in debt.”

Some issues that have impacted business cannot be traced back to the pandemic though – they believe “neglect” of the market over the years has reduced sales.

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Steve said: “Every little bit of change the council have made has chipped away. It has been taking away from our business.

“People prefer Morrison’s over the market – but the atmosphere just isn’t there.”

Price increases have also become insurmountable for the business – with Steve and Claire unable to keep increasing the price of the menu to keep up with overheads.

The price of electricity skyrocketed, as well as the cost of produce – for the café, the cost of cheese has increased by 225 per cent in the last 15 weeks. The task of balancing keeping the menu affordable for customers and keeping the business profitable has become nearly insurmountable.

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When asked if she would miss the café, regular customer Sadie said, “what a ridiculous question, of course, I will miss them.”

Closing out nearly 38 years of serving the Darlington community, Steve and Claire thanked all their customers, past and present, and asked them to call in at the café in the next few weeks to say goodbye.

The closure of the decades-old café will leave a hole in the heart of Darlington.