The Tap's Pop Up Shop

We bought the only remaining pub in our small, rural village in December 2018 and quickly turned it round to provide a hub for our community. My daughter, Lucy, manages it, and we have an amazing kitchen and floor team behind us. As soon as Covid-19 forced us to close we turned the dining area into a pop up shop,using our local suppliers to continue supplying fresh produce etc to local villagers and beyond.  That remained open to customers for a week until the social distancing measures came into force,and it was no longer safe to be open for customers. We then offered an online grocery order service with delivery for the elderly and isolating,which was very popular but hugely time consuming, and we relied on volunteers to help us. We applied for a grant from Pub is the Hub which enabled us to purchase refrigeration units for the pop up shop, so we could use another 2 inside areas of the pub, spread the display of produce and therefore safely open the doors to customers once again, on a 2 in, 2 out basis whilst observing a minimum 2 metre distance. We also continue to take and deliver orders from the elderly or isolating. Our customers are all delighted that we stock many items they cannot find elsewhere, and in a very safe environment to shop in. When the pub is finally allowed to open again, who knows when that will be, we will obviously need the dining rooms back to operate as a restaurant. However, we need to be one step ahead and have the external shop unit ordered and in place in anticipation of an August opening. With this in mind, and supported by many requests to keep on providing the village shop, we have sourced a suitable unit which can be located outside the pub in an area which already has a couple of sheds on it. It will be easily accessible and provide a much needed service to not only our villagers, but surrounding villages and way beyond too, and will also help protect the jobs within our business, as the pub trade will be slow to take off again. A permanent village shop is a much needed service not just for the obvious provisions, but also, and equally important, provides a social experience to all ages of the community. The funds raised for the purchase of a permanent unit will enable us to provide this service.