BCM, and it also had people applauding them!
Fair enough. But I'd invite you to find a thread on this forum that doesn't follow the trend I've stated. Even the Honor Oak gallery, run by one of the most lovely, gentle people I've ever met got exactly the same response.
Hills and Parkes was a great idea but simply didnt have enough variety of produce available. When I went in I struggled to find anything to buy and I wanted to buy to support a local business. There needed to be more home cooking.
Ideas for someone else
Bbqd spit roast free range chicken cooking
A nice fresh cooked leg of ham to be carved
Cold meats
Pre cooked tasty healthy dishes for commuters to take home and heat up for Dinner - meat and veg dishes, veggie chilly, veggie lasagne - homemade all could be made at great margins
Fresh baked bread
Above all opening hours that suited people
The only thing I bought at H & P was their nice but pricey bread.
For anyone into nice bread, and who is in reasonable distance of Crofton park - Jay's Budgen's sell really good and (I believe) locally made bread for about two thirds of the price. (Jay's Budgen's is an all-round good shop).
I think it might be Cooper's Bakehouse bread.
To be brutally honest, I won't miss H & P. I found their prices astonishing (I'm sure I remember seeing jars of jam and honey for about six quid!) and never found the service particularly helpful or friendly.
I actually found myself missing the old deli from about six years ago, which was where either the bike shop or Hopscotch is now! It was, ahem, variable and the bread wasn't as nice but I did like it and used it more.
BCM, not to dwell on the point any more but a final thought fronm me.
A public forum such as this attracts a wide variety of people. They all have their own opinions and are entitled to them. Some will like quick service, some will like slow. Some will like Italian, some wont. Some will be very picky, some wont.
I am sure you get my drift.
I really dislike people who post "XYZ restaurant is rubbish" without saying why. If you have an issue explain what it was. In the same vein, if you like somewhere say why.
At the end of the day we cant all come on her and say everything is great all the time, because sometimes it isn't.
how do we know it is up for sale anyway? probably just gossip....
Their own Facebook page Dave...
ok, not a rumour then
Hopefully somebody will take it on as an existing business and just make it better. i actually dont think it would take very much to make it a really nice place to eat in and buy from.
All the support and good wishes being shown here by many of its loyal customers is quite sweet.
It's a shame that the feeling's apparently not mutual though - because H&P have decided to sell their £250k pa turnover business for £96k to relocate elsewhere.
i think it's a very good business for somebody. everyone wants to do new things at some point, that's life!
Just incase the new owners read this - I really really like:
The pesto, the mackerel pate, the bread, the red tomato pasta, the expensive ham, the sausage rolls, the fresh salads and probably lots of other things that I am forgetting. I know it is quite pricey, but I enjoyed popping in when working at home for lunch or a coffee and I will miss it if it has to close. There are probably tweaks that could make it better (and probably more profitable?!), but all in all a great shop on our high street that I always look forward to going to.
a deli needs to cover items the next door sainsburys doesn't - for example craft beers, better wines , cheeses and things like condiments and breads etc a small selection of unusual seasonal veg.
it also needs a coffee and breaky / cake offering to get trade in throughout the day.
I popped in once to try and find some wild mushrooms (the ones you get dry in a packet, and sometimes in jars) but they didn't have any ...I thought they were missing a trick..and the shelves seemed a bit bare!
In this little, peaceful shop, I found things I loved, thing I liked and things I thought could have happened in a different way. Yes, there should be more seating, fewer chilli based sauces and quite possibly even a toilet. An alcohol license seems like a no-brainer to me. For less than a grand you can sell all kinds of excellent drink at a great mark up. But for a couple of good people who, I think, haven’t had a great deal of experience in the hospitality trade, they’ve done good for three years, it just doesn’t seem to have been given room to grow, for whatever reason. Prices can drop the jaw, admittedly, but that reflects the price from the supplier and the cost of getting decent staff, I reckon. I’d concur that spending more for decent stuff less often than processed c**p that mainly ends up in landfill is a good idea.
If you’re happy with Sainsbury’s Local then fine. I was in there at quarter to eight this morning looking for some non-existent pears, non-existent brown sugar and non-existent walnuts (not that niche) while three members of staff rolled about on the floor cackling and shredding Halloween decorations and a manager looked on, grinning and waving what looked like candy floss. I am firmly of the opinion John S should very quickly, like Tesco, be checking his own, overpriced, funeral cover.
And Sodo is a chain restaurant. A very good one.