Wilding: Founder explains why the restaurant is closing

The wine bar and restaurant will close on Sunday, November 20, as announced on Tuesday, November 8.

Founder Kent Barker, who owns two other sites, said they "didn't get it right" in Salisbury. 

Read more: Wilding Restaurant in Salisbury will close after one year of trading 

The cost of living crisis put mounting pressure on both staffing and supplies, and Mr Barker did not want to have to pass the cost onto customers. 

He said: "Everything everywhere has had to go up, we tried very hard to offset that, but we just weren't taking enough money.

"Footfall is why we struggled. There's tonnes of footfall in Salisbury but it wasn't relevant to what we did and the way we did it."

He added that the cost of rent for the site was "perfectly fine".

Kent Barker (Image: Charlie McKay)

Mr Barker weighed up closing Wilding down for a few months and potentially coming out the other side but ultimately decided closure was necessary.

“We looked to change what we did but that would’ve been very difficult. If we were in another climate, we could’ve done that," he added.

Wilding replaced Cafe Rouge on Salisbury High Street just 15 months ago.

However, Mr Barker doesn't think Wilding's closure is a sign of things to come for other independents in the city.

He said: "It's just a realignment of the high street.

"Salisbury is an incredible city and the right businesses will come in."

Staff were offered jobs at Wilding locations in Frome and Oxford, however, some chose to go elsewhere. Mr Barker told the Journal "no staff are out of a job".

The rising costs from his suppliers were also to blame. 

Mr Barker said the cost of one of his products went from £1 to £3.50 "overnight", rendering it "completely unviable".

The cost of utilities has also gone up "four to five times" what it was before the cost crisis.

“You don’t want to put pressure on customers. They don’t deserve it and they won’t pay," added Mr Barker.

Business manager Dan Collins, from Salisbury BID, said: "We are sad to hear that Wilding will be closing later this month due to current market conditions including increased costs in food, utilities and labour. This is a stark reminder of the challenges that many of our hospitality businesses will face over the coming months.

"At present, we await the latest economic announcements from the Government, planned for November 17, to see what support there may be for businesses. This Autumn, we backed the #BusinessSOS to encourage the government to reduce VAT, business rates and energy relief."

Mr Collins added that there is a real need to support our local businesses wherever possible to ensure they survive yet another challenging period.

The BID has put together a list of "the festive offerings" in Salisbury this year.