Winchester cafe struggling to survive through Garnier Road closure

The Handlebar Café, part of Bespoke Biking, has been hit in its peak season with further road and parking suspensions – confusing staff, customers and delivery drivers.

Garnier Road, by St Catherine’s Hill in Winchester, has been closed since the beginning of March for essential works to repair the 100-year-old Tunbridge.

As previously reported, the cycling café was £10,000 down on usual profits within the first three weeks of the nine-month road closure.

READ MORE: Winchester cafe sees £10,000 decrease amid closure of Garnier Road

Restricted access at Tunbridge (Image: Adele Bouchard)

Despite a record high in trade on Bank Holiday Monday (August 28), the business is still having major lows. Particularly in recent days when noisy cranes have been on site, the car park has been closed and pedestrians and cyclists have been forced to wait to cross for as long as half an hour.

Company director Heather Evans was depending on the summer being busy enough to keep the business afloat through the quieter autumn months, with Garnier Road closed until the end of November.

The café believes Hampshire County Council could have waited just an extra week to close the car park and bring in the cranes, with the increased disruption falling on the last week of the summer holidays.

SEE ALSO: Winchester bridge to be replaced during nine month road closure

Ms Evans said: “We’ve had our boom days but the long term impact has been enormous. The disruption and the noise are unpredictable.

"The slump has reduced since March but we have had those sinkhole days. We’re worried about going into the autumn. June to August should be our peak months but we have not achieved what we were hoping to.

“We don’t want to be another closed café. We’re working really hard in an adverse situation.

“The communication was good at the beginning but we found out about the car park closure from a sign they’d put up. Walking groups don’t they can get in or if it’s worth them coming.

"We are open, please come and see us."

Handlebar Cafe team, from left: Lee Banks, Doris Susan, Cerian Evans, Christina Pye and Heather Evans (Image: Adele Bouchard)

New manager Lee Banks said: “On Tuesday, when the car park was closed again, we took in £10 all morning when usually we get about £300. Trade has been down by about 60 per cent on the busy bridge works days.

“There’s an anxiety around. Our normal walkers have been turned away or asked to wait up to half an hour in the rain to cross the bridge to us.

“When they closed the bridge fully, we had staff arriving as much as an hour late. We’ve lost our regular kayakers who are now using the other side of the river where it’s easier to access."

'We're still open' (Image: Adele Bouchard)

READ ALSO: New stationery shop opens in former Paperchase store

To drum up business, the café has revamped its menu with new options such as pancakes, crisp cakes and a larger range of vegan and healthy items.

Handlebar also offered a free treat for kids who took part in their trail, with the plan of doing something similar in October.

Garnier Road car park and the temporary footbridge will be fully open again from Wednesday, September 6.

St Catherine’s Park and Ride remains open with allocated spaces for café users.

Hampshire County Council has been contacted for comment.