How it started...
In 2019 my husband (Matt) and I took over one of the countries oldest hardware stores, Patrick Green Limited in the lovely village of Ingatestone, Essex.
The store has been in operation as a brand since 1888 and although it’s seen many ups and downs throughout the decades (including both world wars), the introduction of online shopping over the past 15 years has provided the business with its most challenging period.
Three months after taking over the already struggling store, Covid struck and the company (like many others) experienced even further disruption and financial damage.
After this, early 2023 saw super high inflation and a cost of living crisis not seen for decades, with many small independent and even large national brands disappearing.
All in all, in short, the business has seen huge challenges over the past five years.
Step One...
As part of our original plan to try and re-establish Patrick Greens, we built a small coffee shop inside the store to encourage footfall in late 2022.
A country music themed speciality coffee house called The Country Café was created due our long love of live country and blues music.
The idea was to run the occasional small live event once a month, alongside the day to day coffee shop and Patrick Greens.
As we battled through the extremely tough economic climate, Matt experienced some personal health issues in early 2024.
Whilst recovering, it was at this point that we had some tough decisions to make! Either walk away entirely, or dig even deeper and push on one last time.
Step Two...
We are both as stubborn as each other and in August 2024, we decided to follow our true passion and focus on The Country Café by developing half of the existing building into a fully functional live music venue.
Kind of following our dreams as we figured we didn’t have that much to lose at that point!
October 2024 saw the first full live music event night and since then it’s been a whirlwind of live music with some amazing UK and international musicians.
Including our latest artist, Christian Beck, who we actually flew over from Kentucky, USA to exclusively play at the venue.
The venue has now held 16 live music events since October 24, with most being sell out nights.
Patrick Greens is still running as a garden, pet and general store in one half of the property with us continuing to invest and develop the brand.
The other half has been developed into an amazing authentic rustic western style country music venue. The first of its kind in the county of Essex.
Over the past six months, we have built a new larger stage, a new bar area, added new furniture for 120 guests, stage lighting, new quality sound equipment and a range of instruments.
Check out our socials, website and video below to see just how gorgeous this unique and quirky venue now is:
@thecountrycafeessex
www.countrycafe.co.uk
A little help from our friends...
That all said, for both Patrick Green and The Country Café to survive, we need to move quickly in developing The Country Café brand and the venue interior, which is conditioned under its new licensing.
As part of becoming fully licensed, the venue now needs to upgrade its fire escape systems, security cameras, toilet facilities, kitchen facilities and shop frontage before it can open under a more frequent schedule.
We also hope to develop a green room facility for all artists that attend the venue.
Clearly lots to do and not much time to do it in!
Every penny counts and anything you guys can afford to donate towards the cause will be greatly received and used to try and give a new live music grass roots venue the best possible chance of success.
"Without urgent action, the pipeline for future artists will dry up, communities will lose vital cultural spaces, and live music will suffer. Grassroots venues aren't just stages - they're where careers begin, where fans connect, and where the future of music is built." - THE MUSIC VENUE TRUST
We're so proud to be a venue for musicians and songwriters to showcase their original work, as well as pay tribute to those artists who inspired them.
We are equally proud of where we have got to so far on our own, on a shoestring budget and with a LOT of very long hours of hard work, but the next step is a big one, even with our determination!
We’ve set up a tiered pledge system with each tier offering you discounted tickets, free drinks, meals and other rewards subject to your pledge amount.
Thank you so much for reading our campaign and thank you even more so to those that truly want to help us keep this new venue alive when so many grassroots venues are closing.
Love Sarah and Matt
The Country Café
(Patrick Green Limited)