A VINTAGE-style tea room in Keighley town centre is to shut at the start of next month.

Janet Croden, owner of the 1940s-style ForTeas in North Street, said she intends her last day of trading to be Saturday, October 1.

She said a number of factors were behind her decision to close, including a difficult winter of trading, a bout of vandalism and theft which targeted her business over the winter and a dispute with the new Keighley Business Improvement District. (BID)

She also cited a separate hike in business rates, the introduction of the £7.20 per hour Living Wage and the news that her daughter – who also works at ForTeas – will be having a baby this October as contributing to her decision.

“Nothing lasts forever and we’ve had a good run,” she said.

“When we first opened, we thought we’d see where we were in three years and decide what we’d want to do then. We’ve been open three and a half years now.

“I was never in this to make big profits. I enjoyed what I was doing, and we were holding our own.

“But then we had such a bad December last year and January of this year. We were the quietest we’d ever been, and that’s not something I want to have to go though again.

“One of my windows was put through, my menu boards were smashed, and my door was broken down and the vintage till with a £50 float inside it was stolen.

“Then there were the Keighley BID payments, and on top of that my business rates going from zero to £270 a year.

“All this was happening at a bad time. I was haemorrhaging money at what was a very quiet period with very little coming in."

“I wasn’t sure about whether I wanted to stay open, so when my daughter Chay said she was pregnant that helped me to make up my mind.

“Everything was pointing towards the fact that it was time for a change.

“I really want to spend more time with my family. At the moment I’m in the tea room for longer than I am with my own family.”

Mrs Croden, of Cross Roads, said many customers had been devastated to receive the news that the prominent, distinctive tea room, which is packed with wartime memorabilia, will close next month, including messages from people all over the world.

She said she had received messages from all over the world from people planning on visiting Keighley who have expressed their sadness that ForTeas will no longer be a fixture.

Mrs Croden said she plans for October 1 to be a “party day”, which should feature performances by nostalgic singer Kitty LaMare.

She said she intends to continue plying the vintage festival circuit, where she makes and sell 1940s era clothes and accessories.