The Barn – Cardington has been operating as part of Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity (Beds RCC) since 2017, and during this time we have faced many challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis. The current economic climate and especially utility price increases have been extremely difficult for a small business. In light of this, the Board of Directors for the Beds RCC Trading Company have made the difficult decision to not renew the lease and close The Barn. This decision did not come lightly, and we have put in every effort to find new ways of making the business viable and fight rising costs.
We want to say a huge thank you to all of our customers for their continued support over the years. From those who visited us as they were passing through Bedfordshire to our regulars we saw every week, we couldn’t have run The Barn for so many years without you.
Having The Barn as part of Beds RCC has brought many positives to the Charity. It has become a safe, welcoming space for people to meet together in the local community, which many staff have used to meet with clients or each other. Running The Barn alongside our other businesses Warden Abbey Vineyard and Ridgmont Tea Room has also been a fantastic opportunity to work together and build on each other.
We are proud to have been able to support so many other local businesses over the years. Thank you to our neighbours Rosehip Bespoke Floristry and Life, Health and Wellbeing Bedfordshire for being such fantastic businesses to work alongside. Thank you also to Wooden Hill Coffee for supplying our coffee, Karen from Tea Cake & Bunting for the incredible cakes, Woburn Country Foods for our butchers and support as suppliers of local produce, and all of the other businesses we work very closely with.
We also want to say thank you to all of our amazing staff – both past and present – for their hard work over the years, and for being a part of this journey with us. We wish you all the best of luck in your future endeavours.
Beds RCC’s CEO Tracy Cowan said:
“This is one of the hardest situations I have had to experience in my management career and I am genuinely upset that we have to lose a brilliant little gem in our Community – and it’s even more upsetting that a team that has worked so hard has to end like this. I hope you will join me in thanking the whole Barn Team for their amazing effort and hard work and that to me they will always remain a part of #TeamBRCC .”
As of the 1st February, there will be no cooked food offering however, customers will still be able to purchase coffee and cake, and deli items can be warmed for a light lunch. The business will be closing completely on 28th February.
For any further information regarding this please email info@bedsrcc.org.uk
For any commercial interest in The Barn please email enquiries@southillestate.co.uk
Cover photo by Ken Robinson