Owning a restaurant may seem exciting, but in the current economic climate, you would be forgiven for opting out. This vegan pizzeria owner, however, did not, as Emil Hallqvist reports.
In March 2026, George Coleman (32) opened the doors to Stones Throw Kitchen’s first permanent location in Portsmouth, Tap and Table, where he will serve vegan pizza, no-fish tofu sandwiches, and his renowned arancini to his eager customers.
Coleman achieved this despite statistics revealing that in Britain, licensed hospitality businesses shut down at a rate of 4 net closures per day in the last quarter of 2025. The holiday season is lucrative for restaurants and cafés, so these figures are concerning.
They do, however, reflect the steady decline in the number of licensed food and drink premises in Britain since 2017.
The challenge has been present since Coleman launched Stones Throw Kitchen, then a food truck, in the autumn of 2021. At that point, he ran his business whilst simultaneously working as a full-time chef at another restaurant, both to deepen his knowledge and make ends meet.
Now, Coleman focuses singlehandedly on his plant-based pizza venue, which is laborious but liberating. He said,
‘Being your own employer comes with extra baggage – you and only you are responsible for everything. But the creative freedom I now have makes this load so much easier to carry.’
Operating any food business is already difficult, but with a plant-based focus, it is even tougher.
Only about 2 percent of Brits identify as vegans, and data from Lumina’s Menu Tracker said that pubs and bars generally served fewer plant-based dishes in 2025 compared with 2024, whereas animal-based protein sources, particularly chicken, saw a rise in popularity.
Vegan pizza is particularly tricky. As George said,
“There is a reason why vegan pizza has a bad reputation, because most places use store-bought vegan cheese. I don’t, I make it from scratch, and that makes all the difference.”
A YouGov report on dining out in the UK revealed that in 2025, 38 percent of diners visited restaurants less frequently than they did in 2024, the main reasons being high prices and the cost of living.
Although veganism is not declining, living standards are, so gambling money on vegan pizza becomes a less likely occurrence.
This is unsurprising; the Consumer Price Index has risen by 40 percent since 2020, and 56 percent of UK households currently report that the cost of living had increased in the previous month.
But George will not let the odds deter him. He said,
‘I can’t not cook. So I have to figure out a way to make it work. That’s the only solution.’
In September 2025, the UK hospitality industry was the sixth largest job sector in the UK, supporting 2.6 million jobs. Compared with other sectors, it has a higher proportion of employed younger, foreign-born and part-time workers and workers from minority ethnic backgrounds.
Hospitality is not only integral to the UK economy, but also serves as an important gateway into the job market. Despite these benefits, the government has yet to address the alarming trends within hospitality.
Instead, the conditions will likely worsen.
Analysis by UKHospitality — the trade body for the UK hospitality industry — predicts that six hospitality venues will close per day in 2026.
As Coleman stated,
‘It is scary, especially now, but on the other side, it doesn’t look like it’s going to get any better. So if not now, then it’s never. The longer you leave it, the harder it’s going to be. The more opportunities I turn down, the less customers I gain.’
The UK already has one of the highest VAT rates for hospitality in Europe, with 20 percent compared with the European average of 12.8 percent, putting many businesses under severe financial strain.
Last November, the UK government announced that the Valuation Office Agency had updated the rateable values of all commercial and other non-domestic properties in England and Wales, these future values taking effect from April 2026. This means business rates may increase significantly and strike a fierce blow to the already vulnerable hospitality industry.
Despite this, Coleman is equally hopeful and excited. He said,
‘Financially, it doesn’t make sense to run a food business. But life isn’t always about making sense; it’s about making pizza.’
Photo Courtesy of Emil Hallqvist
