Yorkshire entrepreneur who opened pizzeria and 1920s-themed bar after cancer diagnosis forced to close business as 'bills trebled'

Charlie’s Pizzeria & The Hi Ho Club has only been open on Feasegate in the city centre for a year, but owner Charlie Hudson has said she cannot make the business viable.

The opening was delayed in 2021 when Charlie was diagnosed with breast cancer – the disease which had killed her sister Cerys a decade before.

She said on Facebook: “It’s with a heavy heart but also a head held high that I must inform you that Charlie's Pizzeria & The Hi Ho Club will cease trading on Sunday 2 October. Almost one year to the day The Hi Ho Club opened.

“Reason - paying off debt from 17 months of paying for a building I couldnt use and rates that I had to pay, as I hadn’t had a sale yet, was fine until all the bills tripled. Without being able to open the full business ie the stage, a real kitchen, and private rooms (basically the money makers) we can’t take the revenue to sustain all the increases in everything and we can’t do any of that because we are paying off the debt from Covid and cancer.

"So here I am on a gerbil wheel of death with the option of a ridiculous loan or investors. It’s too risky and I’m in a good place to leave now.

“Hardest thing I’ve ever done is open a business during a pandemic whilst undergoing intense cancer treatment. I couldn’t be prouder or happier with what we achieved. But sometimes things happen in your life that are out of your control and I truly belive everything happens for a reason.”