Co-owner Paul Human said rising costs was the final nail in the coffin
A popular Walthamstow restaurant ‘just couldn’t make it work’ after battling rising costs and declining footfall. The Collab completed its final service on Saturday, February 28, before announcing the sad news on social media this morning (March 5).
The burger and craft beer spot was a staple of Hoe Street since March 2019, but co-owner Paul Human admits the journey has been ‘tough’. He told MyLondon: “The day they announced the Covid lockdown was our first birthday.
“Up to that point we were really busy but then honestly we never fully recovered. We’ve been barely surviving ever since.
“Our revenue went down by around 20% and then 25% until eventually we were surviving on half what we’ve been on before. When Ukraine happened, that’s when it really hit the sand.”
Paul and business partner Sam McGregor, who also founded London-based brewery Signature Brew, saw food and vegetable oil prices “increase exponentially” until customers could no longer justify the price the pair “needed to charge”. This was on top of rent and an electricity bill of £1,000 a week.
They ultimately decided to call it a day last week as a growing pile of debt loomed over them. “We’ve been on the ragged edge for a long time,” Paul explained.
“It started getting really difficult to stand at the door and pretend everything was fine. We could have fought to keep going but it just didn’t feel worth it, not for our mental health.”
Fresh hope came in the form of Soho Theatre Walthamstow, which opened a few doors down from The Collab last May. However, while the restaurant filled up ahead of showtime, it too proved not to be enough.
Paul continued: “We were hoping the new government would be there for us, and the first thing they did was stick the knife in. Raising National Insurance was one of the final nails in the coffin.”
The number of Brits working in hospitality dropped by more than 80,000 between Rachel Reeves’ inaugural budget in October 2024 and the following July. A majority of these were entry-level and summer jobs typically taken up by young people, according to trade body UK Hospitality.
Paul, who lives in Leyton, is now urging Londoners to ditch the likes of Deliveroo and Uber Eats in favour of dining in person. Restaurants are forced to pay out as much as 30% of their order earnings to these third party apps.
“If you want to support local businesses, don’t use the apps,” Paul said, “It doesn’t help. What you’re doing is prolonging the agony.
“We’ve normalised ordering by phone and spending extra because it’s convenient. People are only going out for a very special occasion or for a very cheap meal. Casual dining is disappearing.”
News of The Collab’s closure has devastated locals in Walthamstow, who have enjoyed countless supper clubs, music events, parties and Burns Night celebrations. One family, who came in every Friday, made Paul cry with homemade cards reading ‘We love you, please don’t close’.
“The outpouring has been really heartening,” Paul adds, “So many people are gutted. It’s nice to know we’ve been part of so many people’s memories.”
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