Astoria closing

Stuff reports:

All 31 staff at one of Wellington’s most well-known cafes have been made redundant weeks out from Christmas.

The cafe started operating out of Wellington Central’s Midland Park on Lambton Quay in 1996, meaning next year would have been its 25th in operation, making it one of the oldest cafes in the capital.

Very sad for the staff, and customers.

Astoria is my default meet up place in Wellington. I would have had coffee there several hundred times. I’ll miss it.

Staff were informed that wage costs had risen, however the price of coffee had not. The cafe was not making enough money, staff were told.

Many employers can’t afford to increase prices to cover cost increases. That is why it is important to have low inflation and have the market set wages.