NatWest Back Her Business has provided £2,500 of match funding
Middle Lane Market: a new shop in Hornsey N8
London, England, United Kingdom
Aim
We're opening a new shop in North London promoting seasonal, high-quality & sustainable food. We need you to make it the best it can be!
WHAT IS MIDDLE LANE MARKET?
Middle Lane Market is a new food shop coming to Middle Lane, at the corner of Hornsey High Street and Priory Park, in London N8. In addition to carrying the best quality products, including cheese, wine, beer, bread, fresh produce & pantry staples from across Britain and Europre, we also want to make this a space for the local community. We want there to be something on every week - from cheese & wine tastings, to fermentation workshops & more. If you have an idea, or would like to use the space in some way, please get in touch!
ABOUT US
We're a husband and wife team, and we've each worked over 10 years in the food industry, in a variety of roles, from kitchens, front-of-house in restaurants, and in food retail (we actually met 8 years ago working together in a food shop). It's been our dream for years to open a shop of our own, with high quality products, helping to connect people to their food and the people who produce it.
We recently found a site that is about 15 minutes walk from where we live. We love the area - so much so, that we think it deserves a shop like this. We are planning to have a cheese counter as well as selling wines, beers, & spirits (with places to eat & drink in or takeaway), as well as daily shopping, like bread, eggs & fresh produce. Seasonal, high-quality food without unnecessary packaging.
TRANSPARENCY
Preventing food and packaging waste is of utmost importance. We will encourage re-use before recycling (yes, we will sell some items in bulk, and we'd love for you to bring your own containers to fill). We believe in being as transparent as possible, asking questions of our suppliers, working to provide the highest quality, most ethical products. Throughout our years in the food industry, we are fortunate to have made contacts with suppliers who match our ethos. We look forward to sharing more with you about specific products and suppliers as we get closer to opening, but if you have any questions (or any products you would love us to stock), please get in touch.
HOW WILL THE MONEY BE USED
Realistically, opening a shop in London costs at least £30k, and when you start adding in equipment like fridges and coffee machines, this goes up even more. We are fortunate to have savings and support from our family which is enough to fund the bulk of this, covering rent, fit out, and basic equipment, but there is even more that we want to do. The money we're asking for here will fund some of the 'extras' - things we would love and that we think the community would love too.
EXTRAS WE'VE ALREADY INVESTED IN:
- Coffee Equipment: Good coffee equipment is incredibly expensive, but necessary to make the best brew. Speaking with some locals, we know this would be a big plus for the business, and we hope that it will be a positive addition to the community.
- Serve-Over Cheese Counter: We have invested in a cheese counter which means we can buy cheese in larger pieces or whole wheels instead of purchasing vac-packed pieces, and we will be able to cut cheese fresh to order. We have sourced biodegradable cheese paper, but you can also bring a container if you'd like. Freshly cut cheese tastes better and it also means less packaging waste.
- Cheese Toastie Machine: Everyone loves a cheese toastie, and this is also a very practical way for us to prevent food waste, by creating another outlet for using our fresh products like bread, cheese and fresh produce to make something even greater than the sum of its parts.
- Handmade Ceramics: Supporting the local community is super important to us, including how we source our food AND the products and materials that make up our shop. We are very excited that we have commissioned a local ceramicist to create handmade coffee cups and dishes so that your flat white is even more enjoyable.
- Fermentation Station: Kelly started brewing kombucha 10 years ago, and in the decade since has expanded to ferment everything from dairy kefir to fruit vinegars to cauliflower leaf kimchi. We want to be able to share delicious, homemade fermented foods & drinks with you, and to be able to teach you how to do it at home through our workshops. In order to do this, we have invested in some larger fermentation vessels and equipment, and lots & lots of jars!
WHAT THE MONEY RAISED HERE WILL GO TOWARD:
- Tap system for Wine & Beer: The money we are raising here will go toward setting up a tap system for wine & beer. Selling wine and beer on tap drastically reduces packaging (1 keg = about 90 bottles of beer or 40 bottles of wine) and it means we'd have access to a larger range available for you to drink in with your cheese board, or to take away in a refillable bottle. We will have empty bottles for you to fill, or you can bring your own!
STRETCH TARGET:
- Charcuterie Slicer: Any money raised beyond our target will go toward a charcuterie slicer. Having a slicer means that we can serve the highest quality, freshest cured meats, that are sliced to order, which means they don't have to be vac-packed and they can be sold with minimal packaging.
REWARDS
While local community is incredibly important to us, we realise that not everyone lives nearby. Our rewards are available even to those who live further afield - our discounts and vouchers can be used in store or on our web site (we ship anywhere in the UK) and we have a few rewards especially for those who are based out of town.
PATRON
As we've said, making this shop useful to the community is of utmost importance to us. As a way of saying thank you to our loyal community, we want to make you a Patron, meaning that you will be the first to know about upcoming events and workshops (you'll have priority booking before we release to general public). You'll also be able to vote on guest tap takeovers, and you will also receive monthly offer like a free pastry, or a special discount code.
TOTE BAG
Designed by Josh Crowe & Andrea Sisó, these canvas 'shopper' totes are being screen printed in the UK. See below for a mock up.
PRE-OPENING PARTY - 2 OCTOBER
We are having a pre-opening party to show off the new space on 2 October. You will be given a welcome drink, and we'll have plenty of nibbles, plus everything in the shop will be 15% off.
EVENT TICKETS
You can choose whether to use your event tickets for the same event (if you want to bring a friend) or to use them across multiple events.
Notes about workshops as rewards: you will be given an online voucher to use against any workshop tickets. You may use this whenever you'd like for any workshop that has tickets available. You may use all of your tickets for the same workshop, or you can use these for separate events. Examples of workshops include cheese & wine pairing, cheese & beer pairing, and making homemade holiday presents.
This project successfully funded on 16th October 2019