Ardnahoe Distillery on Islay closes cafe with 14 staff at risk of redundancy

One of Islay’s newest distilleries is set to make staff redundant as it has closed its cafe and reduced visitor centre employees.

Ardnahoe Distillery, in the north east of the island, announced it has closed its cafe, citing the economic climate. The move has left 14 staff at risk of redundancy.

The announcement was made via social media and read: “We’re sad to announce our plans to close the café facilities at Ardnahoe Distillery. The staff have given it their all, but like many small, independent family businesses, we’re feeling the effects of the current economic climate that is hitting the hospitality sector particularly hard.

"Our immediate priority is to support our staff as we undergo a consultation period with them on the future for their roles. The rest of the visitor centre, with its public tours and gift shop, would be unaffected by the café’s closure.”

In a redundancy letter, seen by The Scotsman, staff were told while the company was proud of the hard work that had gone into an “excellent new product and the Ardnahoe brand, the visitor centre and, in particular, the food and beverage operation has been consistently loss making”.

The letter states: “While it [food and beverage] may have a role to play at some point in the future, when the business is better established, we believe that in the medium term, the focus of the Ardnahoe business should be on production and a limited number of tours. We do not propose to provide food and beverage for the foreseeable future.”

Use of the venue for third-party events will also cease, once all bookings have been fulfilled. Staff will undergo a consultation, with only three visitor centre roles available as part of the scaled-down operations.

A member of staff affected by the announcement, but who wished to remain anonymous, said: “This was very sudden. There has been talk of a restructure since August/September time, which dragged on and on. There was a staff wellbeing survey, which they didn’t like the results of. Most staff are off for three weeks in January, meaning this news has taken place during annual leave for most.

Ardnahoe opened in 2019

"Once staff received the announcement, via email, it was met with venom, hate and upset. The consultation will take place over Zoom and this is all happening at the same time as the production staff getting a 5 per cent pay rise. The whole thing has not been very pleasant.

"The economic climate excuse is a load of rubbish. This has come about due to their own inept management of the business. Also, this is the year of the Ardnahoe single malt, and I don’t think that a single bottle will be sold on Islay because people [on Islay] are very protective of their own and are very critical of companies who cash in on the Islay name and don’t look after the people.”

Plans for Ardnahoe distillery were announced in 2016 by Glasgow-based whisky specialists Hunter Laing & Co, with the site opening in 2019 following a £12 million investment. Hunter Laing came about after Douglas Laing Co split in 2013 in what was called an amicable de-merger.

Ardnahoe was the first new malt whisky distillery on Islay in over a decade, it was the ninth on the Hebridean island and the first to be built since Kilchoman was established in 2005. Hunter Laing posted over £6 million in profit in 2022.

Hunter Laing has been approached for comment.