Bad weather, a lack of tourists and reduced customers due to struggles with the cost of living have forced the decision to shut The Modern Boulangerie in Ramsgate for good at the end of this month.
The business is headed up by baker and patisserie chef George Bellamy-Adams and mum Karen and has been operating from the former Celandine Hall in Harbour Street since November 2022.
George first began the venture in April 2017 in the premises of the Grumpy Goblin gaming store, originally in the High Street and then in Queen Street.
Specialising in Viennoiserie – which translates as ‘things of Vienna’ and includes croissants, Pain au Chocolat and Pain aux Raisin and also in Beignets, which are French pastries – trade began as business to business with some personal orders also catered for.
The success of that micro-business and demand for George’s kitchen creations from cafés, restaurants and shoppers meant a move to his own shop in Westcliff Road in July 2020 and then the relocation to Harbour Street.
The building, which had last been used as an indoor market until its closure in 2014, was converted to a patisserie and deli and café area.
The kitchen below had separate areas for baking, patisserie, café prep and short orders.
But Karen says a hard winter followed by a “non-existent summer” couple with high costs for wages, ingredients and bills without the expected summer uptick in custom and income has made the closure inevitable.
Karen said: “It is very sad. The whole year until this month it has chucked it down meaning our regular people don’t come out and tourists have been non-existent. As a hospitality business we cannot survive without tourists in the Summer as they set us up for the winter with a significant uptick (in trade).
“But it comes to a point where you have to draw a line, we can’t go into the winter again without a cushion.
“We are heartbroken but it has been really intense over the past two years. The building is beautiful but it is vast with 50covers and maybe we should have gone for something smaller as this is really the kind of place for a corporate business.
“I think we a hard winter we will see a number of businesses fail through no fault of their own because it is so expensive for salaries, ingredients, bills and rent with no customers. People are struggling with the cost of living and just can’t afford to come out for breakfast, lunch or even coffee and cake because they are struggling to pay their bills. It is always hospitality that goes first because it is not a need but a treat.
“I think it is really sad and sad for Ramsgate too as it was becoming such a lovely place but I do worry for the town’s future.”
The Modern Boulangerie’s last day of trade will be August 31. Sadly, the closure also means the loss of jobs for 15 staff although many have found, or are seeking, new jobs after being told of the impending closure last month.
Karen said: “We gave our staff plenty of notice and they have all been getting themselves other jobs. Our main consideration was taking care of our staff.”
George said although ‘grim determination’ got the business through last winter, the awful Summer was the last straw.
He added: “It’s been humbling moving from somewhere like West Cliff Road to Harbour Street. “Looking back, you don’t realise how good a thing was until it’s gone. And now it will all be gone. All of it.
“All of us at TMB thank you for all of your support and your custom over the years. It’s been a journey that I’m so very sad to see the end of.”
I could weep!
When a family business goes down it is a tragedy for so many..
I will remember for ever those wonderful Victoria sandwich cakes as huge crowns George donated to the community and which we were privileged to cut up and give away .
Sad news! It was my eatery of choice whenever I went to Ramsgate, but it seems that the miserable locals would rather support Wetherspoons.
Must be good gammon in Tim’s place.
Not surprised really, it’s very expensive
It has to be to pay the bills. Thats the problem.
Perhaps you are happy paying £4 for a loaf of bread.
There prices weren’t aim at 99% of thanet people
I never bought a loaf of bread there – only lunch.
Have you ever thought that the miserable local that you condescendingly refer to might only be able to afford to visit Wetherspoons?
Or altrnatively, they could prepare higher quality food themselves more cheaply.
I do.
Your choice. Their choice.
Perhaps Peter, people are finally taking on board sweet, high carbs like these are not just fattening, they contribute to obesity?
Why are the other bakers thriving then?
Are they? I gave up bread yonks ago, but still enjoy a slice or two of ASDA fruit cake now and then!
another one bites the dust
Such a shame, the bread, pastries etc is delicious at The Modern Boulongerie unfortunately people around here do prefer their food from Wetherspoons..
Good luck to you and your staff for the future.
How can a bakery be compared to a pub? And as the two genres are so different, the conclusions that Ramsgate residents are “miserable” and “prefer their food from Wetherspoon’s” cannot reasonably be made. They are, as usual, exaggerated generalizations.
I agree.
One could’ve bought lunch in both. Yet the former had such a nicer clientele.
Spot on!!
I buy my rolls and pastries from Crusties, just up the road.
I was not aware that the Boulangerie sold real ale.
Cheap stuff.
So do I, Andrew!
Why?
What a rubbish comment. If you look around the local area you will see many eateries are doing rather well.
It is bizarre to say this is the Spoons fault! That’s a giant boozer with mid marker meals, this was a luxe bakery and coffee shop.
I suggest the reasons are as outlined above don’t you. I also thought the shop window didn’t really sell the offer that well.
A huge shame.
The bad press around the owners withholding wages probably didn’t help. It was splashed all over social media.
Oh really? I don’t really do social media that much.
I do seem to recall some (minor) controversy when they first opened, along the lines that they’d have to get up too early to produce genuine French-styled produce, so didn’t bother.
I had great service and product the half-a-dozen times I went there (I don’t got to Ramsgate often, especially now that direct buses from Birchington no longer run), but things like the above can rub people up the wrong way.
I look forward to reading the usual suspects (Andrew, Phyllis, Rees) views, or was it out of their price range?
That was certainly true. The baker said that to my face when I asked what the nearest thing to true French bread they sold was. That was when they were at Westcliff Road and I’ve never used them since, but the produce in the window always looked unappetising and lacking in the sort of care and presentation that a real boulangerie or patisserie in France excels at.
Should perhaps have grown more slowly and worked on their quality, value for money and customer service?
Few shops in the UK compare to those in France, and even fewer restaurants. Those who never leave the UK are really missing out.
Don’t do social media? You are never off it!!
You do realise there are three other Peter Checksfields in Kent alone? None as handsome and talented as me though!
All these comments about “locals”, miserable or not, this business started as a result of locals giving money as part of crowd-funding, investing their hard-earned savings, giving loans and time and physical effort.
Other enterprises in town, like Sugar Rush and the Community Cinema rely on similar “locals” to get them up and running and to sustain them.
It’s a real shame that the Boulangerie failed but there are many generous and optimistic “locals” who have lost a lot of money as a result.
As for those who like decent bread, I hope Staples and Falstaff can pick up the slack.
Blaming other factors is easy to do but they should probably take a look at themselves.
I used to go to that tiny place they had every few weeks, grab whatever you want and take home, excellent. When they moved to their new place which lacked atmosphere and felt like a temporary pop up type of business, you couldn’t get certain items to takeaway, it was only possible if you sit in as they “hadnt got around to sorting out take away from the hot menu”. What? You did it before! Just copy that.
Tried them again months later and still the same, quality seemed to have dropped also so didn’t bother going again.
Oh no, their bakery goods were really nice but Location-location- sort of thing and that black gate in the road.
Hope they do well at their other site, really nice food. Thank you for being local.
Just adding our new mp needs premises this unit would be in an area where there is demand for surgery meetings and the other business.
New mp could be a 2 kt ier person, hope were not doomed. blinkered voters need something to party.
Just saying.word from the street’s. If i am arrested for this. who cares i dont
Why would the gate make a difference? It isn’t a 24 hours a day closure.
Agree what’s the gate got to do with anything ? The pedestrian area is no parking 24/7.
So they won’t have missed out on the car trade !
Did you ever use it Rees?
I thought not.
Delicious as many of their things were, value for money they were not!
Used to go to the West Cliff Road venue fairly regularly, but rarely went into the Harbour Street venue. Prices went up and quality went down. Staple opened up in York Street too, offering better quality for those who want it. Whilst at St John’s Neal’s Yard Bakery in Covent Garden recently, I couldn’t help but notice they are cheaper than The Modern Boulangerie on, say, a sourdough loaf, and other items too. And Fortnum and Mason on Piccadilly are cheaper than The Modern Boulangerie for some items. Sad to say it became a bit of a running joke in our household that we’d save some money by waiting until we’re next in Fortnums!
Don’t people like to kick people when they are down, they wanted to live their dream and they tried. Yes they charged more but the ingredients were better. Their staff were always polite. I agree we only went in for a treat.
How many other people would like to try and live their dream.
I found the staff a bit hit and miss, actually.
They probably just found you a complete miss
Probably why they failed.
I don’t mind paying more, if it’s something I really like. I went there once, coffee was fine, but it was the cake, I was looking forward to, but it was rather disappointing, sadly!
It was good when it was up the road but soon as they moved and put up price’s I didn’t bother any more wasn’t anything special just different
Sorry to hear about another business lost to the town. Please try again in a smaller venue?
people always vote with their feet in the end , if its to dear they will quickly go elsewhere , thats why witherspoons always has people in thier premises = simple
It’s sad when someone tries and fails. Prices of ingredients have risen sharply since covid, as have rents, wages etc. We had a business in Harbour Street and the last straw for us was reaching the threshold for paying VAT. Good luck for the future.
It certainly hasn’t “chucked it down” in this corner of the country, the grass has been brown for weeks through lack of rain. Nor was it a hard winter.
I looked in when I was in Ramsgate. I couldn’t afford those prices, and not the sort of prices the the typical Ramsgate tourist will pay, especially with kids.
The comment “non existent summer” doesn’t make much sense.
Indeed. My garden lawn is proof at how hot and dry it’s been.
KARMA. perhaps Ms Dawes might help you as you supported her in trying to close MANSTON. give her a ring …lol
Nasty and unnecessary
She is.
Cake lover- I agree with you- Paul James’ comment is indeed nasty and unnecessary. Hundreds of people donated to the judicial reviews regarding the proposed new airport. Ms Dawes was their representative.
No one has “tried to close Manston”. It closed in 2014 ecause it went bust, and has been closed since.
Ms Dawes’ JR was not about stopping Manston from reopening, but a challenge to the ludicrous reasons that the SoS put forward to reject the advice of the Planning Inspectorate.
I think it is always sad when a business closes, but I am afraid that’s capitalism for you A successful small business overreached it’s market, but it can regroup find somewhere smaller and look at it’s range of products.
Wetherspoons is good at what it does because it knows its market.No one is forcing you to enter the local Wetherspoons Peter,and perhaps you should be less snobbish when commenting on a perfectly respectable establishment.
The Celandine hall is enormous and the fixed costs must be commensurate with the size of the place.Many of the buildings in Harbour street are high maintenance and have substantial basements.I may be mistaken but I think the Celandine hall is similar. I have advocated returning some of the larger buildings in Harbour street and nearby to their original size, by dividing them into smaller units and probably renting them out on short term let’s or as pop ups.Trying to run a small business from a large premises is fraught with difficulty.
Curiosity got the better of me … I checked them out on Companies House.
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/12215749/filing-history
It doesn’t look pretty. A compulsory strike-off notice last year (averted), accounts currently overdue, and weirdly the nature of the business is stated as ‘Renting and leasing of other machinery, equipment and tangible goods not elsewhere classified’. By way of comparison, Crusties, Harbour Bakery and Staple’s nature of business all state ‘Retail sale of bread, cakes, flour confectionery and sugar confectionery in specialised stores’.
Went full Miss Marple and checked them out on the Food Standard Agency site. They got a food hygiene rating of 4. Again by comparison, Crusties, Harbour Bakery and Staple all got 5 …
Looking at this more, what you describe is “The Modern Boulangerie” company that used to operate out of the West Cliff Road site. The Celendine Hall tenant company is the Boulangerie Trading Company, the one that’s closing this month and the subject of the IoTN article.
Both TMB and BTC have the same Directors.
So BTC will wind-up its trading but I’m not clear about TMB, do they still have the West Cliff Road site, could they reopen there?
Companies House is a really good information source, I understand these same Directors created another entity, Harbour Events, last November.
Perhaps closing the Harbour Street venue is just one chapter ending rather than an end to the book.
Many thanks for the clarification Pirate Jenny :-)
I notice on Companies House that the Boulangerie Trading Company is currently red-flagged as ‘Confirmation Statement Overdue’.
And it is the Boulangerie Trading Company operation whose hygiene rating is 4 compared to their nearby competitors all rating 5 …
There may well be a restart of some kind as you say, perhaps by way of reigniting the TMB entity (albeit with it’s strike-off notice history, overdue accounts and unusual business nature classification), or the BTC entity (now failing and closing up shop as reported here), or another new entity.
Sadly it’s all academic to me, their recent trajectory of trending towards a lower quality offering doesn’t inspire me to think great things are afoot; that’s not to say that nothing may be afoot of course :-)
Yet even with that as a possibility, George’s own words appear to suggest it is fatal. “Looking back, you don’t realise how good a thing was until it’s gone. And now it will all be gone. All of it.”
Gone. All of it … 🕳️
Shame, good product etc and good loos, bad choice of town to be in, step outside of it, the streets are filthy, the smell of fish and chips and greasy spoons also the poorly maintained empty shops with rotting facias and weeds. Not to mention the undesirables wandering around who look as though they’re sizing up the next mugging target. Should’ve opened up in a decent area as far away from Thanet as possible. Good luck to the owners
Fred’s description of Ramsgate is yet another depressing and untrue exaggeration- it is not an accurate description of the town.
You need to travel outside of Ramsgate to get some perspective. When’s the last time you ventured even as far afield as Birchington, Minster and St. Nicholas?
It is. It is a dump.
M.M.Rees
Anti social behaviour is getting worse. The shouting and arguing from the street drinkers is increasing. Kids on bikes and scooters is increasing.
The smell of dope is increasing. I go in ramsgate everyday and see this. I’m surprised you miss all this !
And yet the same street hosts several restaurants, a pub, a bakers and a supermarket, all of which seem to be doing OK.
I think the comments made by several others are appropriate: the Boulangerie was charging more for its pastries than Fortnim and Mason.
The Ramsgate you describe is not the one that I’m familiar with.
Travel expenses would be more to Fortnim and Mason.
Well i have to agree with that-Look at the state off the town. A DUMP No thanks to the council. They want people to shop at westwood instead.
Ramsgate is far from being a dump.
Just the other day I was in a local pub, and there was a young couple, visitors.
They loved the town, and it’s environs. They were keen to sample more of Ramsgate’s delights. Other pubs, places to eat the Tunnels, seal trip, walk along the beach to Broadstairs and so on.
“places to eat the tunnels” sounds interesting.
Where we are lacking good eateries is along the seafront from Minnis Bay to Botany Bay, only a couple of not so good cafes , poor toilets and a waste of concrete, wake up TDC look at other resorts , Bournemouth, Great Yarmouth, Barmouth, or Bridlington everywhere it seems puts us to shame.
YES i agree-Like ive just come back from Bognor regis-What a lovely town. And plenty off shops and places to eat. Utter shame on this council.
Very good point, Fred. The pub at Minnis Bay used to be quite classy, but since their major refurb a few years back they’ve turned into an over-priced Wetherspoons (fish of the day is whatever they have ready-battered in their freezer!). Thankfully, Broadstairs has good restaurants, even if their is an over-abundance of Italian and Turkish cuisine.
Very sorry to hear this and so, so difficult for you.
But, yes, that site is far too big and the location difficult for locals. Small is beautiful in a successful business – can you reopen on West Cliff?
“the location difficult for locals”? How exactly?
One of the common themes I see in these HYS are a fascination with weeds, filth and ‘feral people’.Of course, all the respondents here are not feral and do not consider themselves to be so, it is the other,someone else.
The truth is the filth, feral-ness and weeds are or should be owned by the community. I criticise TDC for its poor choices, bad management, and its pro Margate policies,but after 14 years of austerity and central government cutting funding and devolving expensive liabilities on local govt.Not all of Bognor, or any of these other exemplary places that our respondents often refer to, are marvellous, but after 40 years of struggling,deprived coastal communities are still struggling, and yes, are getting worse.
I refer again to the structure of local government which is not fit for purpose.I would like to see a restructuring and a devolution, so that communities could tackle these problems.As for Jenny Dawes give it a rest, if you are going to build the airport, get on with it and stop bleating about it.
The gate in Harbour Street is there because myopic motorists and irresponsible drivers ignored the pedestrian precinct throughout its life. I once saw someone drive down Harbour Street against the one way prohibition at high speed during the day, fortunately no one was killed.By the way those who did up the Celandine hall decided they could dump aggregates and cement on the road and mix concrete/mortar as if it was a builders yard.That’s the sort of me first attitude that some builders and developers have adopted in recent years.
As the retirement going?
Rather well, but some people do talk a lot of Boswellox and running down the town is not helpful.
If you get to Italy, Palermo for instance the crap in the streets has to be seen to be believed.But for all that it has heart and is a great place.You have to take things in the round.Yes I know TDC deserves to be abolished and Rick Everitt is a nice guy, but ineffectual.The TDC CEO Carmichael is old as methusalah and he has not yet booted out all the useless ones at TDC, but we are where we are.
Try and be a bit charitable for a change and not so judgemental, it not nice picture you are presenting of yourself
Parts of Romania are pretty grim too. Cleanest country I’ve seen overall is Germany.
Just because there are dumps around the world, and I’ve been to the worst doesn’t mean we have to live in one.
Accessible toilet very good but service was very slow when I went there. The deli counter never had much on it and sadly there were not enough everyday smaller loaves and rolls in the window to tempt people in to the shop.
This morning I noticed that George has flyposted a call out for kitchen staff (on the phonebox outside the Harbour Bakery). Sharing this info here incase anyone has the skills, time and inclination 🧑🍳
I’m presuming this is George from The Modern Boulangerie, it just says George and a mobile number (not sure if it breaches guidelines to include the number here so I will refrain). The Modern Boulangerie closes in a week though, so perhaps it is a very short term requirement, or perhaps it is for a new venture. If it is a new venture (as Jenny 🏴☠️ intimated above could be the case), you heard it here first! 📰
I wonder if it will be a proper French-style bakery?
I went in here once and thought my god it’s expensive for what it is ,the place was nice but tried to be posher than gregs well my opinion is if they copied gregs model of superb rolls/foods and good pricing the foot numbers would have been much better,it’s a pitty but I’m not surprised to be honest ,they should have understood the market of what sells
Really sad news, love this place!
It’s so easy for a business to fail, especially when it’s funded with other people’s money.
I suspect the owners might have done due diligence on a proper business plan had it been all their own money.
A picture of the company accounts paints a thousand words.
Can you say more? Other people’s money?
Ref: Garry Saunders… “this business started as a result of locals giving money as part of crowd-funding, investing their hard-earned savings, giving loans and time and physical effort.”
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/12215749/filing-history
I notice that George and Karen’s ‘The Modern Boulangerie’ entity that you link to now has a new second compulsory strike-off notice dated 3rd September 2024.
And I see on their other entity ‘Boulangerie Trading Co’ (which can also be found on the Company House site), and which is still red-flagged for overdue paperwork, that a Garry Saunders, the same name as who you quote, is listed as a shareholder on the company’s confirmation statement dated 2023.
The complete list of shareholders named in that document are:
GEORGE BELLAMY-ADAMS
KAREN BELLAMY
DEBORAH PHIL SHOTTON
JOSEPH BRADLEY
GARRY SAUNDERS
SYLVIA TILLMAN
ROWAN ELLIOT PAGE
THE MODERN BOULANGERIE LTD
Looking at their last financial year’s accounts (which are visible on the Companies House listing), it appears to state that £79,667 worth of debt becomes due by 31st Aug 2024 (the day that this news article reports they will cease trading). These debts break down as:
Bank Loans and Overdrafts £24,423
Other Loans £31,737
Other creditors £12,089
Taxation and Social Security £11,418
These figures do not include any debt that may have been incurred during their current financial year (which by 31st Aug 2024 is an additional 12 months of trading).
Profit and Loss figures and shareholders fund can also be viewed, about which one can have further thoughts.
The above is a reply to Alex Peters’ comment (AUGUST 28, 2024 AT 9:47 AM) – hit the ‘post’ button instead of ‘reply’
I’m not sure what your point is in your reply to Alex Peters. But as a clarification I am the Garry Saunders who is a shareholder.
Hello Garry 🙂
The point of my reply to Alex was to share public domain information which could act as an extension to his comment – a comment which itself had been prompted by Jenny 🏴☠️’s probing for more information that could shift the discussion from ‘the general’ to the ‘more specific’ in at least some way.
Thanks “Listen Here”. It’s important get to the truth of the matter as the bad debts accumulated by the Boulangerie Directors, Karen and George, are staggering.
It was only a few months prior to the announcement of their closure that K & G issued a shareholders report saying things are hard but in no way terminal. Asking them what changed in such a short time got no response.
If they do set up again I would urge caution for anyone thinking of investing.
Hopefully the truth will out!
I’m sorry you found yourself put in that situation, but thank you for sharing your cautionary tale.
Now in excess of £300k btw. Energy bills for more than a year, 5 months’ rent, outstanding loans of more than £70k. They’ve blown a lot of other people’s money, without contrition or apology.
You have to work pretty hard to blow £300k+ in less than two years. Overstaffing, poor cost control, declining quality? They should own the failure but blowing that much of other people’s money really is something.
The figure I am reading here of £300K+ is staggering.
Admittedly of less severity, I previously commented that their Food Standards Agency Hygiene Rating is currently 4 (the result of an inspection on 30th April 2024, and lower than all their nearby competitors). And yet even today, 4 months on from that inspection, the business continues to falsely display a Hygiene rating of 5 in their window.
I run a small (but successful) hospitality business in Thanet so have a keen interest in the reasons why these fellow businesses fold.
There have been several in the past year that have folded with relatively massive debts, which just don’t equate. One common factor with all of them, evident on companies house is the large loans/debts acquired in 2020. I don’t doubt that they are winding up the businesses to avoid repaying the covid bounceback loans. Many have ceased to trade, only to phoenix with a new name at the same premises with the same people running them.
Looking past the financial aspect, many of these failed businesses commonly don’t respond to Google or Tripadvisor reviews and don’t engage with their social media audiences. At best, they might respond to negative reviews. Which, to me smacks of complacency.