A MEXICAN takeaway which opened in the summer has had to reduce its hours while it recruits more staff.

The Winchester branch of Mexigo, in Stanmore, was previously open everyday but has been forced to only open Friday to Sunday as a means of keeping the business alive.

The Mexican burrito bar, in Wavell Way, hopes the change is only temporary and says the change comes down to losing key members of staff in a short period of time – leaving little time to recruit and train new people.

Mexigo director Ian Rayner said that despite being warned that Winchester is one of the hardest cities to recruit delivery drivers, the team does not regret its decision to open in the student-filled area of Stanmore.

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Hampshire Chronicle:

Mr Rayner said: “Winchester was an experiment and pilot to see if Mexigo would work as a delivery and collection base. Rent is so high in the city centre that we couldn’t touch there. We love Winchester and we live here so there are no regrets but the only way we can survive is to reduce the hours.

“Since our hectic July launch, trade has settled down and we are currently in the process of reaching out to many more Winchester residents who have never heard of us and are yet to sample our Mexican delights.

“Our staff team is made up of predominantly students, with some in their last year suddenly realising how much work they have to do before their upcoming exams and leaving us with no time to recruit and train, to the level we require. The change of our opening hours is only temporary and we apologise unreservedly to our many loyal customers.

Hampshire Chronicle:

“The cost-of-living crisis affects everyone and we are not exempt. The rise in our electricity bill is now our second largest cost after labour, there is nothing we can do about it, and as with all restaurants, our costs of ingredients have increased massively. But we are optimistic about the future as we continue to grow our customer base. 

“We have been using Deliveroo for more than 10 years in Southampton and continue to use Deliveroo exclusively as our delivery partner in Winchester. There are difficult delivery logistics in Winchester and occasionally when demand runs high they struggle to provide the service we need. However, on the whole we are very satisfied with their service.”

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Hampshire Chronicle:

Mexigo is open in Wavell Way 5pm-10pm Friday to Saturday and 5pm-9pm on Sundays. The business hopes to resume its daily opening hours after recruiting two more members of full-time staff.

People interested in applying should contact info@eatmexigo.co.uk or 07751871041 or call into the store to speak to one of the team

The students who continue to work at the takeaway have been unaffected by the change as the hours fit around their studies.

Mexigo is aiming to improve turnover through methods such as loyalty card schemes, limited period special dishes, longer opening hours, direct marketing to businesses, leaflet campaigns and a new range of student offers.