The Hill Cafe at the Southill Hub in Limerick city is feeling the brunt of the savage inflation of recent years, according to spokesperson Aisling Lohan. While footfall has increased, it has led to increased costs.
This year, it had to increase its prices, not to reflect inflation, but to keep the taxman happy.
“We are victims of our own success. Two years ago we had to register for VAT, the cafe was doing so well that the sales were over the threshold. That meant we had to either absorb that cost or increase prices, so we did a price increase, but basically it just goes to the taxman. It’s quite frustrating.”
“Our cafe operates as a loss leader, you know the way Dunnes and Tesco sell things at a lower price – it brings people into the organisation. If we increase the costs any more we’d price out people from the community that we’re here to serve, it wouldn’t work.”
The cafe was fortunate to receive a badly needed financial boost in 2025 when it applied for and was approved for €10,000 to help cover the costs of its chef/manager role.
She feels the cafe plays a huge role in making the community aware of what is available at Southill Hub and she was looking forward to families moving into new houses in the area.
“New families are going to be moving in and they will come over, because it’s right on their doorstep. The cafe is a great place for outreach, people from the community come in, and they stop and chat. They might be giving out about something and they’ll be advised to talk to the family support worker or the youth employability worker. The cafe is a great way to draw people in and then refer them to services. People go in for food and they might come out with help for getting a job or something. We need the cafe as a way of linking into the community,” she said.
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