Regulars tend to stay away from when the build starts until after the rides have gone
Homemade’s Goosey beer garden (Image: Homemade Cafe )
The owner of a Nottingham cafe next to the Goose Fair site has spoken out about the impact it has on the business and disappointment of not being included on the site map.
Homemade Cafe is located at the edge of Forest Recreation Ground, and extends its opening hours, compete with a Goosey beer garden with a marquee and festoon lighting, to tie in with the historic event taking place from September 25 to October 4.
With around 500,000 visitors to the annual 10-day fair, you might think business would be booming. However, owner Jasmin Barlow-Wilkinson said the reality was much different.
She said: “We are not anti the fair. We love it. The Goose herself brings all the childhood excitement but the extended time makes things difficult, bringing extended disruption, challenges and stress for the business.
“It’s time to unpick the myth that it must be amazing for business. When it was five days it was (amazing) but 10 days is a very different, diluted story.”
She said regulars tended to stay away while the rides were being built the week before the fair opens and explained some thought the cafe was actually close during the works.
Park activities, including the regular Junior Parkrun, are suspended which also takes it toll on sales. From the time the fair starts to set up to the finish, Jasmin said the impact lasts for up to nearly five weeks.
“It takes a lot of promo to get people back after their habits change for five weeks. It’s gone from two-and-a-half weeks’ impact pre-Covid and crazy busy to nearly five weeks’ impact and diluted vibes but with all the hugely increased costs of operation. We create a lovely Goosey beer garden to encourage fair revellers to have a pit stop but it comes with a price tag.”
Homemade gives the showman a discount at the cafe, allows their children to use the lounge as a safe space while they’re operating the rides, and promotes the fair on its social media but Jasmin added it was disheartening not the be included on the site map.
She said: “Just saying ‘Pavilion Cafe’ would help, signalling food and drink available, just for people to know something is there as we do not have a door at ground level — it’s up the terrace steps and ramp.
“It’s a shame and disappointing as we are part of this park community all year round. As much as we love the tradition it isn’t all sunshine, daisies and golden eggs. It creates a lot of additional work to change our service and can feel not very inclusive of our cafe at the same time but we soldier on and try to make the best of it.”
Normal service will resume at the cafe on October 7.
A Nottingham City Council spokesperson said: “Council officers have maintained regular engagement with relevant stakeholders, including Homemade Cafe, throughout the planning process for Goose Fair and will continue to do so.
“Goose Fair is a long-standing event that involves a range of partners working together to ensure its successful delivery. We remain committed to working collaboratively with all stakeholders and to supporting a safe and enjoyable event.”
William Percival, chairman of Notts and Derbyshire Showman’s Guild, said having a 10-day fair encouraged bigger and more exciting rides to attend. “They’ve got 10 days to get an income from it because as you can appreciate most of these rides are very expensive to move from site to site and moving them for a short while isn’t viable.”
He said a group of enthusiasts put the map together, not the showmen. “The cafe’s there all the time, but in two years time the fair will have been on that site for 100 years so it’s been there a long time.
“I’m not saying it doesn’t affect her regulars but I’d have thought visitors to the fair make up for that. The showmen go in there while they’re setting the fair up. When I’ve been past it always been pretty busy.”
