‘The memories shared within our walls and the friendships formed are something we will cherish forever’
Anna and Maciej Godyn who are closing their restaurant to pursue new careers(Image: Kuchnia Restaurant)
The culinary couple behind a popular Hull restaurant has told why they have come to the sad decision to close their doors. The Kuchnia Polish restaurant has been serving up traditional delicacies to a faithful following of diners for almost two decades, ever since owners Anna and Maciej Godyn decided to become the first eatery to bring a taste of the Eastern European country to the city.
Now, however, the couple say rocketing costs and rising business rates – and other well-documented challenges in the wider hospitality industry – as well as a craving for more time to themselves, has led them to announce the Beverley Road restaurant’s closure. Amid their determination to take up new jobs away from the food trade, the couple said they had been moved to tears by the reaction from their loyal customers at the news.
Anna said: “Hospitality is going down right now, with the economy right now. Gas and electric bills are all going so high and everything has changed. And we are tired as well. We have been here 19 years – you feel like you have to work 24 hours every day.
“We’re getting old, we’re nearly 50 and we want to change a little bit of our lives. For 20 years we’ve spent every weekend, every celebration like Christmas time, in the restaurant, and that’s why we want to change our life. It’s been my life. It’s very hard for us because we want to change our lives.
“We’ve seen restaurants near us close too – it’s the economy. I put something on Facebook about the closure and when I read it I was crying – they don’t want us to close and I have lots of messages from the customers that are making me cry. All my young life I have spent here in the restaurant. It’s like my second house.”
Anna, 45 and Maciej, 47, now plan to seek out new, completely different careers. Anna said: “We’ll go to work. We’ll try to find new jobs – I need the money, how else can we live? We’ll stay in Hull and we’ll carry on with our lives here.
“At the moment I’m on courses for instructor drivers. I’ve passed my first exam and I have two more. So maybe at the end of this year I’ll get my licence.
“I can’t sit at home and wait, I have to be working, if I spend one day at one day at home looking at four walls my head explodes, so we are both looking for new jobs. I’ve been working since I was 16 years old.”
The final service will take place at Kuchnia on Saturday, February 28, and Anna hopes as many customers as possible will join them for a last meal.
Anna added: “We have had the privilege of introducing traditional Polish cuisine to the people of Hull and becoming a staple part of the local food culture. As we prepare to say goodbye, we would like to invite all our regular guests, former customers, and the entire community to join us for one last traditional Polish dinner.
“We want to use this opportunity to express our deepest gratitude to everyone who has supported us over these 19 years. The memories shared within our walls and the friendships formed are something we will cherish forever.”
Over the years the restaurant has worked hard to play its part in the community. In 2018 we reported how the team gave away 120 bags of free food to homeless people, making the gesture as a special gift to those sleeping rough in the area in the run-up to Christmas.
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