Newcastle breakfast spot slammed over 'poor taste' April Fool's Day joke about energy bills

A popular North East breakfast spot has apologised for a "poor taste" April Fool's joke which said it would be closing down due to "crippling power bills" led to a backlash on Instagram.

Pablo Eggs-Go-Bao, which has premises on Station Road in Whitley Bay and Blandford Street in Newcastle, posted on Instagram on Saturday morning that it had entered its last month of trading, citing ongoing price increases coupled with crippling power bills.

It is a situation that many small businesses across the country have been familiar with in recent months, with many closing their doors for the final time.

The original post read: "It's with great sadness that we announced that this will be our last month trading. Ongoing price increases coupled with crippling power bills have made it impossible to continue.

"A special thank you to all our customers & staff who have made this journey possible for us to this point. We (heart shaped emoji) u."

Many responders seemed to see through the joke and condemned it was poor taste, while those who were caught out shared their dismay that the spot, which is named after a Colombian drug lord, would close.

After a backlash on social media, the post was updated on Sunday morning and the bao bun and coffee seller confirmed that it will not be closing in the immediate future.

The updated post read: "NO we aren't closing, YES we do have horrendous craic. Jokes aside though, we feel joking about the s***storm that is reality is just that, take it how you will.

"It was April Fool's and it's not a personal dig at anyone. With -+ 20 staff and a huge electricity bill in arrears, we were making light of our s*** situ.

"That being said, we should have just said we would no longer be using eggs or we were bringing out a vape or something. We should have read the room better."

One user commented: "Nice to see that you're totally taking for granted all the support that people are showing to small businesses at this time, this must have been really hard to read for other local businesses who are genuinely struggling and desperately clinging on to hopes of survival."

Another said: "I love your food. I love that you're a small business.

"I love that you're a NE small business. But as a small business owner myself, this is in poor taste.

"Many of my friends have had to close their doors, and this is almost like a 'hahahaha as if that would happen to us' moment."

A third added: "Genuinely hope this isn't true as I love that your business has been so popular in the North East. But if it's an April Fool's joke this isn't very funny.

"We've all seen so many local businesses close recently and it's devastating for local families and communities."

However, some still saw the funny side, with one person responding: "It's April 1st, all y'all need to lighten up."

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