Maldon cafe’s ‘business vanished overnight’ as nearby Asda introduces cheap self-service coffee

A branch of a popular Essex pizza chain and coffee house will close this week after their ‘business disappeared overnight’ as a nearby Asda launched their cheap self-service coffee. White Label Detroit Pizza has revealed its HQ store in Maldon will permanently shut its doors on May 27 after nearly three years.

The independent food outlet is known for creating, supplying, and delivering handcrafted uncooked pizza and also offers coffee, alcoholic beverages, pastries, and confectionery. Co-founder Paul Boorman, 51, claimed the closure is due to plummeting coffee sales after a nearby ASDA branch recently started to sell cheap self-serving coffee in the area, causing them to re-evaluate and adapt their business strategy.

The award-winning Colchester chef said: “We just saw our coffee business disappear overnight, you don’t need to be told how tough things are for small businesses at the moment. So, that basically put a nail in the coffin for our place here.

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“We are sad [about the closure] and I’m going to miss the people around here because the community of shopkeepers is brilliant, it’s fabulous… But you have to look at the figures and when something as dramatic and see your business just drop, you have to think hard but do it quickly.”

Paul and his business partner Aiden Fraser opened the first store in Hatfield Pereval in 2020 “to put food on the table” as they did not receive any financial support during COVID.

Its success allowed them to expand to Maldon and Colchester within a year of its opening. The closure will not affect the two other chains and now focus on the pop-up Colchester restaurant at Trotters Bar and Kitchen.

The decision to close the Maldon store was made two weeks ago following a discussion with their landlord and seeing the figures that were “massive red flags”. The announcement was posted on their Facebook page last Thursday (May 18) with a picture addressing the closure and Paul said it was not an easy thing to do, which left him with a lump in his throat.

“It’s kind of like ‘I don’t want to do this. But, I know I have to do this because it’s the intelligent and sensible thing to do and I going to have to do it.’

“But the response has been so overwhelming. It’s been lovely. There hasn’t been a single negative comment, it has all been supportive. Everyone wants to know where they would still be able to get our pizzas and still going to be supplying.”

As much as the Essex duo are saddened about leaving the Maldon community behind, Mr Boorman shared they are not leaving the customer base “high and dry” as customers can still purchase their pizzas at Smith’s Butchers on the High Street after the closure.

The journey of White Label Detroit Pizza has been tough for Paul, but said the resilience and adapting they had to do made them stronger and has been a good experience, which has made him excited about the next phrase and hopes to take the business county-wide.

Asda declined to comment to the claims when asked by EssexLive.

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