A THAI takeaway which was at risk of never opening due to Covid and anti-social behaviour damage to its premises is finally opening its doors this week. 

The Thaidee, in Buckley, is opening on Tuesday (July 19) after overcoming Covid restrictions, the cost of living crisis and flood damage. 

In May, the takeaway was subject to an act of suspected criminal damage - with youths believed to have flooded the premises after smashing an upstairs window to turn on a tap. 

At the time, owner Martin Lovell said the future of the takeaway was on a "knife's edge". 

He said: "Through my experience it's always best to expect the unexpected. We certainly have been tested with this venture. That’s before the ongoing cost of living crisis.

"The industry is facing hard times but we are a resilient little family at Thaidee. The greater collective of Buckley has already been very welcoming even before we’ve opened. We choose to concentrate on all the good and not let anything spoil that."

The Leader:

Sadly, the business has been forced to make the "painful financial decision" to close its Queensferry restaurant due to the cost of living crisis. 

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Mr Lovell said: "Our plan five years ago was to have Flint, Queensferry and Buckley.

"We had almost achieved that but by March of this year the business plan looked vulnerable as the landscape had rapidly changed. The industry has been hit hard with the cost of living crisis. This was before Queensferry was hit by the Covid pandemic two days after opening.

"We did have an eat-in section there which pretty much had two days of life due to being closed throughout the pandemic. It never recovered from that and remained a takeaway. Although performing well throughout the pandemic the business plan has to be radically changed to not spread ourselves too thin from what I believe is going to be a two-year period of uncertainty."

The Queensferry takeaway closed its doors over the weekend. 

The Leader: The Thaidee in Queensferry has closed its doors. (Google Street View image)The Thaidee in Queensferry has closed its doors. (Google Street View image)

Mr Lovell said: "Sacrificing one for the greater good of the other two. With much pain it was decided to sacrifice Queensferry. We have put things in both Flint and Buckley to try and cover as much business as possible from Queensferry. We are also in the process of forming our own supply chain to insulate ourselves from ongoing fluctuations in stock prices.

"This was a painful financial decision. It’s a bitter pill to swallow but I know it’s prudent business practice with the current climate."