A CAFE owner in Southend is calling it quits after nearly nine years, due to financial problems which have left her having to sell her house.

Annette Halls is closing down Fantasy Fare tomorrow, blaming a huge rise in competition.

The cafe is the second to close in the Victoria shopping centre in recent weeks.

The Cafe Society coffee shop, in the centre of the mall, shut after racking up debts of £50,000.

Mrs Halls, 56, from Beedell Avenue, Southend, said she will have to sell her home to pay debts run up when business began to tail off. She said: “So many offices closed down in Victoria Avenue with the loss of all those people, and so many coffee shops have opened, bringing a lot of competition.

“I had a fixed rent, but because of the drop in trade I couldn’t afford it any more.

“I am looking for a job now and will have to sell my house and move into a flat, but it’s been coming for a long time now.”

Sje added: “It’s time to go and in a way I am looking forward to just getting a wage and letting someone else do the worrying.”

Bill Harkness, chief executive of shopping centre owner Delamere Estates, expressed regret the cafe was to close but said it would not join the ranks of the other empty units.

He said: “I think Fantasy Fare has had a very difficult time. We have tried to help them and keep them going but they had a lot of competition.

“We have a new tenant, a men’s barbers, coming in straight away. We are also in the final stage of talks with an operator to take over the coffee shop site in the centre of the plaza.

“I think we have had the wrong people in there in the past, but I am confident they will produce something exciting for that site.

“We are also in talks with a couple of people who are showing a very strong interest in taking over other units in the centre, so it is not all doom and gloom.”