27/02/2026
A Temporary Pause for HAY ⏸
After a great deal of thought, we have made the incredibly tough decision to temporarily close HAY Cafe for a little while.
As many of you who follow our journey, visit us regularly, or know Alex, Ralph and our family will be aware, Alex was diagnosed with a grade 2 Breast Cancer in November. Initially, we were told she would hopefully be cancer-free by now, but sadly it has proven to be far more extensive than first expected and where we originally were looking at 1 surgery and radiotherapy it became 2 surgeries, intensive chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Alex is now almost halfway through her chemo treatment but has encountered several challenges along the way and things are starting to become pressured for all.
HAY has always been a real family operation, and as you can imagine, it has been incredibly tough trying to balance the business whilst Alex has been so poorly. Right now, Ralph needs to be where he is needed most - supporting Alex and being there for their daughter.
We are so fortunate to have the most amazing team here at HAY and at our sister café, The Black Mulberry. Our absolute trooper Bekah will be transferring down to The Black Mulberry for the time being, so our wonderful staff can all support each other. If you’d like a similar experience and to continue supporting us, please head down to see Ralph, Bekah and the team there - they would love to see you!
The Cud Life next door is open and will be operating as normal 🐄🚜
On a positive note, this is not the end of HAY. We fully intend to reopen in a month or two. This is simply a pause - a chance for our family to focus on what matters most right now - and we very much look forward to opening our doors again soon.
Our last day open will be Saturday 7th March, so please pop in and see us before then. Your support, kindness and understanding mean more to us than we can ever say.
With love and gratitude,
The HAY Family 💛
