Amita Nathwani’s Post

Co-ops are resilient, effective businesses – like The New Leaf Co-op, a worked owned wholefood shop in Edinburgh that’s been around for more than 12 years. 🫶 “Our co-op structure has facilitated the success of our store and created a lot of resilience throughout difficult times,” said co-op member and co-director Chiara Ducker. 🤝 The New Leaf Co-op weathered the Covid pandemic more successfully than some of the other local businesses. “Our co-op structure got us through Covid, at a time when we saw similar shops disappearing,” Chiara said. 👥 The shop’s committed and enthusiastic team rolled up their sleeves to reassess different areas of the business – and they made necessary changes while being fair to everyone involved. 💡 “We also considered what to do to regain our customer base. Having so many people to bounce ideas off and not having one person having the ultimate say was valuable. This carried us through a period of financial uncertainty and led us to where we are now. 📈 “Over the last two years, we’ve started to see increases of around 10% year on year, which is more in line with the growth we were seeing pre-pandemic. This year we are on track to have what will be our biggest year in terms of overall turnover. We’re hopeful to be able to continue our growth and serve our community.” 👉 REPOST to spread the word this #CoopFortnight to celebrate how #coops offer an altogether different way to do business – and back our Call for #CoopGrowth: https://buff.ly/4eHtCN3

Retail Strategies explores food deserts, grocery needs and food insecurity in underserved areas - and what your community can do about it. Free webinar on July 25th to learn real estate strategies to market your community to grocery store site selectors. https://lnkd.in/gr2et5Zu #retailstrategies #retailrealestate #retail #grocery #grocerystore #fooddeserts

Stanhoe Pub Opens Village Store To Support Local Residents With Help From Pub Is The Hub Publicans Rachael and Jeremy Parke have opened a new village store at The Duck in Stanhoe, Norfolk, to support people living in the local area. The village shop named ‘Stanhoe Stores’, was opened with the expert help and a Community Services Fund grant from Pub is The Hub, the not-for-profit organisation that helps pubs to diversify and provide essential local services. Stanhoe is a small village with just under 200 residents and limited facilities apart from the pub and village hall. Rachael and Jeremy soon realised there was a need for a village store to support both local people and visitors to the area as it is four miles to the nearest shop and there is limited public transport.  Members of the local community were overwhelmingly supportive of the idea and the store was opened within a garden room in the grounds of the pub. It stocks a range of essentials such as milk, bread and household items but also supports local suppliers with produce including meats, cheeses, chutneys, chocolates, fresh breads and pastries. There are plans to extend the range of products on offer after feedback from customers and they are set to launch a range of recipe kits for people to cook at home. The kits have been designed by Jeremy, who also works as the pubs’ chef. Publican Rachael Parkes said: “We have had so much support from local residents for the village store. The log burner seating area is proving to be very popular with people popping in for a chat, a coffee and to read the paper in a relaxed environment.” She added: “The store is an essential service that is helping villagers get their provisions without having to travel many miles to the nearest shops. We are dedicated to supporting other local suppliers which will help boost the local economy.” Pub is The Hub regional advisor Terry Stork added: “Rachael and Jeremy have already established The Duck as the hub of the village. This is a pub that has a fantastic food offer and has something for both locals and visitors to the area.” He added: “Offering vital local services such as a village shop is so important to rural areas. Stanhoe Stores is not just a place offering those important essentials but it is already a meeting place where people can get together and connect which helps overcome social isolation.” Read More:

Pham’s Coffee & Boba in Grand Island, Nebraska, is not a typical coffee shop. From placing an order to taking the first sip, customers are in for a meaningful experience. When Tuan Pham opened his shop in 2023, he wanted to give customers something they’d never tried before, and he succeeded. Now in the process of opening a second location, Tuan is making his dreams come true, in part because of guidance and a loan from the Center for Rural Affairs. Learn more about Tuan’s road to success and his specialty drinks, Vietnamese coffee and boba, in our blog.

https://lnkd.in/e8yTqVaM Hundreds of people have signed a petition trying to stop the upmarket GAIL's Bakery chain moving into an east London neighbourhood. The chain, which opened its first branch in Hampstead almost 20 years ago, is planning to open in Walthamstow Village but petition organisers sat their “vibrant local neighbourhood” is better served by existing “local, independent and family-run businesses”. They said: “Gails, although respected for their quality, bring a risk of overshadowing our much-loved local stores due to their massive scale and advertising reach. This could lead to decreased visibility and pedestrian traffic towards independently run businesses, threatening their very existence and dismantling the character and diversity crucial to Walthamstow's charm. “Crucially, studies have shown that local businesses recycle a higher share of their revenue back into the local economy, enriching the entire community.” Among those who signed the petition was Joanne Bertram who said she wanted “the area to retain its independent shops” and Amanda Davidson who said Gail’s would be “a threat to local businesses”. The petition had attracted more than 330 signatures by 7.30am on Wednesday. Walthamstow regularly features in lists of London’s coolest neighbourhoods and the village is the most gentrified part of the east London area. The presence of a Gail’s on a high street is perceived as a reliable marker that an area is moving up market and is said to have inspired the Liberal Democrat’s general election campaign with the party’s strategy - dubbed Operation Cinnamon Bun - targeting the sort of well-heeled voters who frequent the chain. A spokeswoman for Gail’s said: “We understand the concern around chains, but our view is that a healthy high street is one with a diversity of quality offers each delivering their best. “High streets evolve over time and we open our small bakeries often in closed banks or stranded restaurants. All of our bakeries exist in areas where the choices are wide and growing - we should be celebrating the improvement in our food landscapes”. What are your thoughts on this? Do you think this excellent bakery with high standards and excellent selection should be welcomed to Walthamstow? #bakery #restuarant #coffee #business #deals #community #growth #highstreet Evening Standard

https://lnkd.in/gdppa39e "Very Sad...these decisions equalize nothing but short sidedness and corporate malaise...not innovative whatsoever. Giving away the agriculture of our pnw to delivery fees and apps for junk foods, mostly." "Where is COMMUNITY? Courage to risk and handcraft is choking at the root. An isolation rather than an exultation of brother, men, mothers and our aunts around the kitchen. We need to drive our choices to others betterments, begin again and call others to share, foraging, celebration and listening...tips are not to blame, it's fear of rejection and the toys of distance and distraction take away our powers of attraction, confidence and we have to become familiar being uncomfortable to rise to other's bests...life, strength, rivals and coequals." "Still, David with a heart to feed, hands to serve ends with the words familiar a stress and beauty of fearlessness, craft and a choice towards relentless acknowledgement or others first." ~terrence EATER... ...Why? In a word, rent. David says that the landlord wanted to raise the rent from $37 a square foot to $42 a square foot on the 3,500-square-foot space. “After five years, we know the economics of what we can do and what we can’t do,” Nichols says. A rent increase like that wouldn’t immediately cripple Eight Row, but in two or three years the business would likely be unsustainable unless the restaurant made drastic changes. “We’d have to change up our tip structure, we’d have to lose some managers, we wouldn’t be able to source how we source, our wine program would have to change,” Nichols says. “Everything that we’ve been known for as Eight Row would be completely different. And so it’s like, let’s just not do this. Let’s not half-ass this thing. Let’s go out on top, let’s go out the way we want to go out"

What role do pubs play in our towns and villages? It's an interesting theory that pubs are the 'hub' of our local communities, but it's not backed up by fact - for the majority of the country. More pubs are closing than ever have before because they aren't making money. My Cousins are anomalies. One, along with her husband runs a pub in Cornwall that is beloved by a thriving, interactive and highly social community. My other Cousin runs a sports bar in the same area, targeted at students - also a highly interactive and social group. Two pubs very vertically integrated. But the you's and me's - the so-called regulars who we *think* pubs are there to serve, prefer to isolate, read our screens, scroll our socials, not engage, drink at home and not frequent those establishments we think we deserve. Paul Hollywood's wife Melissa Hollywood, who runs the Chequers Inn in Smarden, Kent, is facing the dilemma that many landlords face - a decreasing customer base that understands the pub's role in their town, yet isn't able - or willing - to support it. A business that's been running for 700 years. Arguing that a pub is a an "asset of community value" is not a winning one. It is a business and it needs customers. If it's unprofitable, it is not the responsibility of the owner to continue to support it for the good of the people who don't use it! My own view is that the traditional village pub will become a rarity, which will only increase the value of those establishments that continue to thrive and serve their market. I hate to see this happen, but whether we like it or not, we simply can't afford to keep many pubs going. https://lnkd.in/g_ScGvhM

The journey to get more comfortable in front of a camera continues…. Remind me fantastic isn’t the only adjective in my vocabulary 🤦♂️ Appreciate all the support I’ve received, if you’re thinking about starting a business or looking for guidance there’s no better place to start! #belfastbusiness #gamecon #webuildandwegrow

One for all you UK commuters out there … has Pret made a boo boo in reducing the value of its much-loved food and drinks subscription? Along with mobile ordering in pubs and a slew of new and interesting podcast creators, one of the best things to come out of the pandemic - and stay with us as the new normal - was Pret-a-Manger’s monthly subscription service, Club Pret. For £30 a month you got 5 free drinks a day and 20% off their delicious food … a really great deal for consumers and a huge footfall-driver for their business. But last month the news came that Pret was changing its subscription to £5 per month (rising to £10 next March) for a reduced offer … 50% off 5 drinks a day, and nothing off of food. Less commitment financially, but far less value in the offer. It’s a big gamble for a company that seemed to have found the sweetspot for their brand (even when they significantly increased prices food and drink during campaign), driving loyalty that other companies could only dream of, and taking customers away from the competition. With the new reduced - and much less compelling - offer starting today, as someone who has only visited Pret for their daily dose of on-the-move food in the last few years, I found myself suddenly feeling like I had a choice of “new” coffee and breakfast houses … Caffe Nero, Leon, Black Sheep. I’d never even considered them before, but now their menus seem a little more appealing after 2-years of Pret commitment. Walking past three Pret’s this morning it appeared the commuters of Surrey and central London feel the same. Where once there were queues out the door, now all the Pret stores I passed were pretty much empty. To be fair, the communication of this change has been exemplary. A clear, honest connection with their subscribers explaining that they started this promotion to get people back in store, and now they can’t afford to keep doing it … victims of their own success. But with a significantly less compelling offer than before, I imagine Pret has seen a large number of cancellations and a huge drop in footfall today. Let’s hope this play for higher profits doesn’t backfire on one of our favourite high-street brands.