Sadness as popular award-winning Mansfield Woodhouse café announces closure

Launched in August 2016, Sid and the Spoon was started as a way that Jodi Stephens could grieve for her beloved baby son Sid, who had died just a few months earlier, in March 2016.

The café, in Mansfield Woodhouse, has proved to be highly popular, has helped to create a number of jobs in the area, and has supported numerous charity events too – even earning a Chad business excellence thank you award for its efforts supporting the community during the pandemic, giving free food to children in need.

But Jodi has now decided ‘enough is enough’ and it is time to ‘go out on a high’.

In an emotional Facebook post, Jodi said the café will shut its doors “in the next couple of weeks”.

She said the decision was tough, but made for a number of reasons and because she needed to assess her ‘work-life balance’.

One of her reasons is her son Freddie, aged five, had recently been diagnosed with autism, which has meant more of her time is spent helping him.

She said: “Over the past seven glorious years, I have given everything, what people don’t see is the severe stress and anxiety and the mental strength that is required.

“Running a successful business has put incredible strain on my personal life and relationships; you need to be the director, worker, admin, socials manager, accountant, maintenance, cleaner, all while trying to be a good mother and wife.”

Rising costs and lower profit margins are also one of the reasons Jodi has decided to close Sid and the Spoon.

She said, as an example, when the café first opened, 10 litres of cooking oil cost £19.99, but is now £37.

Jodi said she had worked with a lot of good staff members over the years, some of whom had stayed with the business since day one, with its current 14-strong team boasting people aged 13-62.

Jodi will now be able to spend time with her husband Kelvin and their children Freddie and Anne, three.

The plan is to turn the café into an apartment. The popular flower shop next to Sid and the Spoon is unaffected by the closure.