We have been asked to leave the Shopping Village.

The last straw was when the solicitors told me that the cost of the fight without all the inevitable chaos would be in excess of £100,000 alone – nobody in their right mind would do that.

So, on the 27th March 2026 the 1867 will be taken over by Heart of the Shires Tearooms Ltd, the owners of the shopping village.

In brief, this is what happened:

Last year, completely out of the blue, I was served a legal notice, by post, to vacate the premises, including our tenants upstairs, Kevin and Tracie, by the 17th April 2026.

I will admit, I cried in my office and kept it to myself for a while. I quietly sat on that to give me time to think and work out why the owners would do this.

When you have put your personal money and your heart and soul into such a beautiful ‘family crew’ it smashes you to pieces – I guess it’s a ‘grieving process’.

We had been getting complaints from some of the retailers here and the owners of the Shopping Village because we were so busy and some visitors weren’t able to be served immediately.

The crew spent a lot of time analysing what we could do to improve and, to be honest, we were already doing our best!

To be fair I thought it was very unreasonable that I was being ‘told off’. We kept records of who we called back, who waited for a table, those that took a takeaway and those that just wouldn’t wait.

Mad isn’t it. If I were a retailer here and indeed, the owners, I would be grateful we attracted so many visitors to the Shopping Village – and what’s even more painful, is we genuinely tried to involve everyone too.

But we all have different business models – my business model has always revolved around extra-ordinary customer service but it was clearly not appreciated here, I can’t deny.

We did have a handful of people, particularly on a Saturday, that just didn’t have the patience to have a wander around the shopping village and wait for the next table, which would invariably become free within 20 mins – it has worked like that here for years and years.

Finally, having had a meeting with the owners, it was confirmed that we were indeed being asked to leave because of these complaints.

It then transpired that the owners just want to run the catering facilities in the Heart of the Shires themselves and were insistent on getting their premises back so they can change the catering offering in the Shopping Village, moving forward.

That is their choice and as tenants sometimes, whilst it feels very unfair, it is the way it is.

I did take legal advice and the detailed scope of behaviour given to the solicitors since we opened in 2022 didn’t bode particularly well, and we did have a case to fight – however, what we didn’t know is that it would cost in excess of £100,000!

The 1867 became a very successful and popular eatery, with an extra-ordinary crew so what do you do?

I had 4 options, one of which included stripping the building and just closing and taking some compensation.

I’ve had weeks/months of sleepless nights – the anger, like I have never experienced, you can’t help it.

Time does heal and you have to consider everybody, so I did a lot of thinking and decided that I would let ‘our universe’ decide the best option.

Our crew and Kevin and Tracie, our resident guardian angels upstairs, being my first priority.

And then, gosh the hardest bit, the regular guests, our BEST FRIENDS  – what was that going to look like when we just disappeared? It’s really difficult when you have built a community of the most beautiful human beings.

So common sense prevailed, to save jobs, and save the shopping village from having no eatery at all – just ‘give in’.

Some compensation has been agreed but nowhere near the cost of time and investment that I personally invested.

It does hurt, I can’t deny. It’s a massive learning experience.

But I could write a book on hospitality – I love it.

If you know any vacancies, then please let me know lol.

So, on Friday 27th March 2026, Heart of the Shires Tearoom Limited will take over the premises, employ all of the crew, allow Kevin and Tracie to stay and continue to serve the visitors to Heart of the Shires Shopping Village, so that’s the good news.

The 1867 brand as you know it will end, I’m afraid.

That is a massive shame, but that is not my choice and there is nothing I can do about that.

Such a beautiful brand.

I don’t know what else to say.

But I will tell you this. We served an average of 6000 guests a month who loved our community. The coffee, the treats, the ambience and the music, but most of all, the extraordinary guest experience when they visited the Shopping Village and I thank YOU for being part of that journey.

I will miss you.

But don’t worry, the crew will still be here, albeit in a different environment.

If you would like to find out about the new Heart of the Shires Tearoom please head to www.heartoftheshires.co.uk.

COFFEE. FOOD. FRIENDS. FOREVER.

Paul