Orange Bird Sheffield: Bosses at city restaurant cut half the staff to survive

Published 6th Oct 2022, 10:42 BST

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A popular Sheffield restaurant has cut half its employees in a bid to survive the cost of living crisis.

The drastic move will leave just Anne Horner and chef Matthew Duggan-Jones as full-time staff at the Orange Bird in Hillsborough.

They will face a huge increase in workload, but they are up for it, Anne said.

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Anne Horner and chef Matthew Duggan-Jones at the Orange Bird in Hillsborough

Anne Horner and chef Matthew Duggan-Jones at the Orange Bird in Hillsborough

She added: “We are very sorry to lose our chef Sophie and my right hand man Panos. We love them and day-to-day we will miss the team spirit.

“But prices are going up and people are spending less and we are only just making things work. We have a lot of fixed costs and we’ve been forced to cut our wages bill. And as owners we can delay our salaries if we have to.

“We are not worried about people knowing what we have had to do. We are excited for the next chapter.”

The restaurant on Middlewood Road, near Hillsborough Park, was set up in November 2020. It had to operate as a takeaway at first due to the pandemic. The premises opened in May 2021.

Anne and Matt face a huge increase in workload, but they are up for it.

Anne and Matt face a huge increase in workload, but they are up for it.

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It was busy, built a reputation for good food and had a lot of repeat custom, Anne said.

But a dip in trade in May and June on top of spiralling costs left them feeling vulnerable.

In future, the restaurant will have less on the menu and is dropping time-consuming items like made-to-order cocktails. Anne says they may use cheaper ingredients but they will not be lower quality - and the magic will remain.

Food at the Orange Bird.

Food at the Orange Bird.

She added: “There won’t be as much choice but it will be the same experience. Matt grew up in South Africa and it is a South African-inspired menu - he is the food.

“We think people will still love it. We are excited for the next chapter.”

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Anne broke the news on the restaurant's Facebook page.

She wrote: “It turns out that opening a restaurant during a pandemic, followed swiftly by a cost of living crisis is tough...with no financial backing we have had to make some very difficult decisions. The worst being that we have had to cut staff.

“Because they are incredibly understanding they have been very supportive of our decision. But we are sad.”

The restaurant reopens after the changes on Thursday October 13.

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