16/05/2026
Unpopular opinion 😞
Supporting local - trend or necessity?!
Lately there’s been a lot of talk around town about how exciting it is to have tax evaders, staff exploitation giants Starbucks arriving and Costa opening in Sainsbury’s. At the same time, I keep hearing people say you “can’t get a decent cup of coffee” in Kelso, despite the many independent places that work incredibly hard to offer exactly that.
Some even go as far as leaving 1 star reviews over cup sizes, comparing small businesses to chains serving oversized, wishy-washy, low quality, sugar-heavy drinks and food that has been made days before and have been sitting in plastic packaging, labelled “freshly made”.
For many of us, our businesses aren’t just jobs, they are our entire existence. So yes, there is genuine concern about what these big chains mean for small, local independents.
When people ask why cafés in a specific demographic area don’t stay open past 4pm, the honest answer is simple: there aren’t enough customers after that time to make it viable. Staying open costs money: staffing, energy, overheads and unlike large corporations, we don’t have endless resources to fall back on.
We’re also navigating rising costs, limited support from a government that works against us, and ongoing challenges that small businesses face daily. Meanwhile, local authorities take decisions that welcome big names into small towns, while many local ideas and plans struggle to get the same support.
This is the reality we’re working in.
Because without independent businesses, the ones that greet you by your name, remember your order and genuinely care, the high street loses its heart.
We might not always be open as long as you’d like. We might not offer everything, every single day. But that’s because we’re human, balancing long hours, families, and the sheer effort it takes to keep going.
Kelso has some incredible independent shops, cafés, and eateries. People who care deeply about what they do, how they do it and about this town.
So next time you think “there’s nowhere to go after 4pm” ask yourself - where are you after 4pm?
Supporting local doesn’t just mean saying it. It means showing up!
