Parkinson, who opened his new tapas bar on Wednesday, said: “It’s definitely a challenging time with all the rising costs, and to build some consistency at the moment feels more difficult than it ever has been.”
Discussing the minimum wage increase, he said: “It just forces you to take less staff on.
“Hospitality is such a large contributor for 18 year olds, or people who have just come out of school or college and looking for their first jobs.
“We want to pay everyone a fair wage, that’s not something that would even cross my mind [not to do].
“I do pay all my staff a fair wage, they’re an extremely valuable part of my business and I’m sure anyone in my position in hospitality would agree.”
