Bitter taste for Swansea couple as cafe limits opening

“Also, I love how she blames football... haha, I love my football but I don't feel bad about walking past the shop without any intention of going inside.”

“The only contributing factor to this is the extortionate prices they charge the customer, people in this day and age can make their own, and just as good, food for a fifth of the price.”

“Well said KileyM, I'm sure Mr Meadon is going to enjoy his retirement ;o)”

“Well said KileyM, I'm sure Mr Meadon is going to enjoy his retirement ;o)”

“Well said KileyM, I'm sure Mr Meadon is going to enjoy his retirement ;o)”

“I can only speak from experience My wife and I had the pleasure of owning two LBJD stores one in Neath and one in Lisburn Ireland, when we took over the one in Ireland and Mr Meadon offered us the master franchise licence for Ireland this would allow us all to move to Ireland together as a family and they would take over our business in Neath over for a fair price little did we know that Meadons fair price was 20,000 pounds which after a year of trading and over 125,000 pounds put into the business, plus my family home tied into the business his own accountant ( Name will remain anonymous as he was a good man) telling him in a meeting that fixtures and fittings alone in our Neath shop were worth 90K, we had no other option other than shut up shop declared bankruptcy and almost lost everything including my house.

I know of many other franchises of Baguette du jour that went the same way, one thing I do know is that Meadon picked up our Neath location for a steal from the same bank that was trying to take my house. I believe he paid somewhere in the region of 10K for all my wife's hard work. So all I want to say is Mr Meadon what goes around comes around and I hope you now know what all those people felt like losing houses and money on and in LBJD. I hope you spend many sleepless night as did my wife and I. All the best from an old friend in Canada.”

“Im really not surprised by this either. I work close to here and regularly pop in for a coffee/ lunch etc. The prices are ridiculous, 2 cakes i bought had mould on them and the service was awful. i was not made to feel welcome on any one of my visits. I only went back as i am a believer in giving people a try.. and well, its the closest place to where i work!
Really feel for the couple, but a lot of changes are needed to make this work, Lower your prices, provide an atmosphere that makes people want to stay in and return to.

I also agree with other comments here, times have changed. its in the wrong location now, it needs to be more central where all the shoppers are.”

“It is very sad to hear this story as whilst I have never met the Meadons, their efforts to grow their business, like many other traders in Swansea, are admirable; indeed they were viewed as a success story for Swansea when used as part of the NatWest (?) initiative for new business a few years ago, even moving into the franchising of what was a very attractive proposition.

I think that some of the comments have been a little unfair in that prices from a market stall actually should be cheaper than a upmarket cafe such as this, and should not really be a comparison at all as the eating environment is totally different, however that said property rental pays a major part in the product pricing strategy of a business such as this.

Costas and Starbucks are major commercial concerns with the buying power to match, and so will be able to pay the often ridiculous rentals asked for in a city centre as well as be able to price their products 'just right', whilst (I am pretty sure) the Meadons do not have the same clout as they are local traders, and so have to keep reinventing their offerings to maintain interest in their business.

The real problem is of course the city centre itself - it is a complete mess. The layout is a farce, entrance in and out a joke, parking is ridiculous, and the Quadrant is too old and too small to be considered a shopping mall worth visiting, too many 'dead zones' to mention between High St Station and St Helens Rd, the ruination of the proposed Wind St. cafe quarter (or vomit street as it should now be called) before it even started, and the only growth businesses appear to be pound shops, pawn shops and charity shops, and this continues to frighten away the big retail outlets, who in turn are needed desperately for local traders to survive.

Why not open the shops until ten every night? It would bring in people who are working in the day time, offer more to do in the city (it is a morgue after 6.00pm) and perhaps create a few more jobs along the way. It might not be the panacea to all ills but it would help local traders to make a living.

In addition, as the council have tried to move the legal professions to SA1, open up Walter Rd as the cafe quarter (wide street, trees, decent frontage to nearly all properties) linking it with the Uplands with a 'strictly no corporates' ban on businesses so there is no repeat of the Wind St debacle.”

“Sounds to me like this is the wrong type of business for Swansea. Also wrong location and over-priced. It's a fact of life that many businesses fail. Best to close the shop and call it a day. As for the other traders that are re-mortgaging their houses and working for minimum wage, my question is why? If they don't have viable businesses, then how is re-mortgaging their houses going to help? Sounds like hey will be homeless pretty soon. I think many business owners just won't let go of a failing business. They would rather lose their home and everything they have rather than give up. Sometimes things don't work out and you have to move on.

As this business is near Wind Street, why not open in the evenings and sell food that people in the area might want to eat.”

“I used to love Baguette de Jour. My favorite filling was cheese, ham & Pineapple and I would go every time I was in town. However, the prices were over the top for what you actually have, the changed the menu and made it to arty farty and I can go into the market and get a Cheese, Ham & Pineapple baguette for £1.80. Thats why the custom has gone. £2 odd for a baguette is just over priced”