In a recent interview Mr Stein railed against the Chancellor’s Budget.<\/p>\n
He argued: ‘Because the economy is not looking too good, people aren’t going out as much, so the one thing you don’t want to do is impose a heavy tax on the sorts of industries that are actually producing stuff.’<\/p>\n
A spokesman for the Rick Stein Group told Cornwall Live: ‘We can confirm that we have permanently closed our small coffee shop with the three-strong team offered alternative positions with the business.<\/p>\n
![\"Padstow](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/102471219-15136089-image-a-38_1758874466567.jpg\")
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Padstow has been dubbed ‘Padstein’ because of the number of businesses celebrity chef Rick Stein (pictured) has in the town: 13 in the last 50 years<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/102474943-15136089-image-a-43_1758884080395.jpg\")
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The Rick Stein Group confirmed the coffee shop’s (pictured) closure is permanent and three members of staff had been redeployed<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/102471225-15136089-image-a-40_1758874477355.jpg\")
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The chef opened his first dining business in the town in 1975 – but over the decades has increased his footprint with multiple restaurants, caf\u00e9s, delis, cookery schools, and other business interests<\/p>\n
‘Rick Stein’s Michelin Bib Gourmand Caf\u00e9 remains firmly open serving the same coffee from Cornish roasters, Origin Coffee, alongside a lunch and dinner menu featuring dishes inspired by Rick’s travels and passion for fresh, simple ingredients, many of them sourced locally.’<\/p>\n
The closure of the coffee shop also comes as the Rick Stein Group is currently in consultation with a view to possibly close down its restaurant in Marlborough, Wiltshire.<\/p>\n
A spokesman for Rick Stein Marlborough said: ‘We can confirm that we are proposing the closure of our Marlborough restaurant and are consulting with the team to explore whether this can be avoided.\u00a0<\/p>\n
‘Our other restaurants, and rooms, continue to trade well, but this particular site has not delivered the same level of return.’<\/p>\n
The celebrity chef opened his first dining business in Padstow in 1975 – but over the decades has increased his footprint with multiple restaurants, caf\u00e9s, delis, cookery schools, and other business interests.<\/p>\n
Such is his grip on the North Cornwall town it has been renamed ‘Padstein’, with gift and bookshops full of his merchandise.<\/p>\n
The town is home to 2,500 people but that number typically doubles in the summer as second home owners and tourists flock there.<\/p>\n
Locals say Stein’s influence has been both a blessing and a curse – boosting the tourist trade but also hiking prices and stifling local businesses.<\/p>\n
![\"Mr](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/102471223-15136089-image-a-41_1758874489015.jpg\")
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Mr Stein was one of many hospitality business owners to rally against Ms Reeves’s Autumn Budget, warning that the tax hike has come at a time when people are going out less due to the current state of the economy<\/p>\n
Stein has even been the target of a ‘terrorist’ group known as the Cornish National Liberation Army who once threatened his restaurants claiming they were hurting local people through driving up living costs.<\/p>\n
House prices have skyrocketed in the town as its popularity grew with the average property being sold over the last year costing more than \u00a3750k – higher than London.<\/p>\n
And Stein’s growing monopoly has been described by one visitor as ‘medieval’ – likening flocking holidaymakers to ‘brainless sheep’.<\/p>\n
But at the Seafood Restaurant (Padstow), revenues dropped by \u00a31.3million to \u00a318.9million in 2024, while pre-tax losses widened from \u00a3204,000 to \u00a3459,000.<\/p>\n
Including sales from the chef’s other company, Stein’s Trading, total revenues across his restaurant business were down 5.4 per cent to \u00a330.4million.<\/p>\n
Ms Reeves’s decision to increase National Insurance contributions (NICs) made by employers sparked a major backlash from the hospitality sector last October. The \u00a320billion-a-year raid is one of the biggest single tax-raising measure in history.<\/p>\n
From April 2025, NICs increased from 13.8 per cent to 15 per cent, while the level at which employers start paying NICs was reduced from \u00a39,100 to \u00a35,000 per year.<\/p>\n