7 minute read
Business
with dorsetbiznews.co.uk Time flies as award-winning deli turns two
Andrew Diprose is the founder and editor of dorsetbiznews.co.uk, the No.1 business website in the county with more than 25,000 unique users
Simon and Claire Warren can’t believe how quickly the first two years of their popular deli have flown by. Launched during the first lockdown in 2020, and one of Wimborne’s smallest retailers, the East Street Deli hit the ground running from day one. Simon, 43, said: “We were serving customers in the oldfashioned way from a table at the front door for the first three months. “That first morning we had a queue down the road, waiting for us to open. “We were blown away and it’s never really stopped since then.” The couple came across what was to become the East Street Deli while Simon was considering his options after spending nearly 17 years in retail. He’d grown up above his parent’s convenience store in Wool and, despite vowing to never work in the sector – ‘the hours, the hard work, you can never escape’ – went on to enjoy a highflying retail career with the wholesaler for Spar in the West Country. But, said Simon: “I had a big team and was doing a lot of driving and spending a lot of time in the boardroom and no time in a shop or with a customer.” And then the opportunity came to start their own business by acquiring the fixtures and fittings of what was once the Hungry Bird deli in East Street. Simon said: “The day before the first lockdown in March 2020, Georgie Boyd, the owner of the Hungry Bird, sat me down and said: ‘I’m having a baby, I’ve got another business, the lease is up here and something has got to give – I’m going to close the deli’. “I was out of work but reassessing what I wanted to do. I decided it was still retail but it needed to be customer-facing. “This seemed ideal, but there was the small matter of the lockdown. “We thought ‘that’s it, we can’t open a shop’. “But, after thinking it through, we said ‘hang on, people are looking for this type of business more than ever before so why not? “Let’s give it a go, because what’s the worst that could happen?” Simon and Claire, who met while at school in Dorchester and married in the Minster in 2015, massively increased the stock range with particular attention on expanding areas such as cheeses, meats and wines. They also expanded the ecofriendly range and invested in new tills. The deli is now home to thousands of European, national and local products including 50 cheeses – around half from the UK and the rest from abroad including France, Spain and Italy. All the beers and ciders are from Dorset, with other local products also stocked, but, said Simon: “Just because it’s local doesn’t mean we’ll get it in. “It’s got to be good.” The couple are constantly researching new products with Claire, who is also a freelance PA, taking the lead as well as looking after the books, the marketing and working two days a week in the business. Three months ago the East Street Deli was named as both the overall winner at the inaugural Wimborne Business Awards and also Independent Business of the Year. Simon said: “Winning the Independent Business Award in any town was going to be a big thing but to win it in this town, where there are so many great independent businesses, was just amazing.” Claire, 42, added: “We’re working all the time but it’s exciting because there’s so much more we can grow and develop. “We’d like to do more collaborations with other businesses and, eventually, possibly look at a second site but we’d never leave Wimborne. “This is our flagship site even though we get a lot of people coming in and saying ‘open one here, open one there’.”
Garden centre doubles its outdoor space
Hillier has completed a £2million transformation of its Three Legged Cross garden centre three years after acquiring the site. Visitors can now enjoy bright and spacious shopping areas with a host of new features following the work. They include a covered plant canopy, the largest space of its kind across all 19 Hillier Garden Centres, full of plants including many from Hillier nurseries in Hampshire. The outdoor space has almost doubled to 48,000 square feet to allow for a wide variety of plant choices. Hillier plant experts will be on hand throughout the centre to offer their advice and help shoppers find the right plant for the right place. In addition, a selection of new concessions and retail partners have been introduced including butcher Craft Meat Dorset, Mountain Warehouse, Cotton Traders, and Johnsons Garden Buildings. The plant area has also been relocated. The centre’s new Mulberry & Thyme restaurant has a newly introduced menu with a spacious outdoor seating area where dogs are also welcome. Hillier says the renovations have been undertaken with sustainability at the core and green innovations include a solar farm on the roof, which has been fully insulated and is set to carbon offset the full operational requirements of the site. Further sustainable initiatives include the installation of new LED lighting and the latest AC technology.
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The covered plant canopy at Three Legged Cross is the largest space of its kind across all 19 Hillier Garden Centres
Business
New chapter for Nurturing by Nature
By Andrew Diprose
An expanding family business has acquired a new retail site with plans to turn it into a flagship store. Upton-based Nurturing by Nature has taken over the Petstop at Pamphill Dairy, on the outskirts of Wimborne. The raw pet food specialist has bought the business as a going concern from owner Lynsey Shepherd who is moving to Norfolk with her husband, Rowan. Monday July 4 marked the first day of trading under the ownership of Nurturing by Nature and both buyer – and seller – couldn’t be happier. Adam Morris, managing director, said: “It’s probably our biggest store, it’s fantastic. “We’ve known this site since we were children and it’s a phenomenal site. “These opportunities come along and you’ve got to grasp them. “We know the site, it’s a great location, the owners of Pamphill Dairy are fantastic, there’s a very loyal clientele and a good demographic. “Our plan is to maintain the community that Lynsey has built up over the years and then subtly, and over time, use this site to express ourselves.” Lynsey, 49, who originally opened a tack shop 12 years ago before migrating to a pet store on moving to Pamphill in 2017, said Nurturing by Nature was ‘the perfect fit’. She added: “We had quite a lot of interest when we put the business up for sale. “Anyone could buy it but who’s to say it will be here in six months’ time? “The most important thing to me was that it carried on, so I’m really, really pleased.” Adam added: “I’m hugely excited. “Quite often when you put plans together it’s done with the best of intentions and fate plays a part. “Opportunities like this don’t come about every day, especially for our teams.” The new Nurturing by Nature store is at Pamphill Dairy, Wimborne, BH21 4ED. Opening hours are Monday to Saturday 8am to 5pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm.
EXCITED: Adam Morris, (second left), Emma Platt (second right) and founder and director Nettie Platt (third right) with Gwyn Morris, Sue Morris, Carole Cluett of Friends of Wessex Assisting
Dogs with Gretel and Ness Combes Picture: DORSET BIZ NEWS
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