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THERE was a time when you couldn't move
in Nantwich for antiques shops, but
nowadays the outlets in vogue are the coffee shops
In 2017 we had many new types of
shops finding they can attract customers and it would seem that in the
lead are ladies' hairdressing salons and then fashions shops. I haven't done an actual survey
on this.
It seems strange that a small town like Nantwich - tourist magnet though it is - should need so
many coffee shops. I mean, we are not
Chester, York, or any of the other tourist attractions, which - being much
bigger, of course - need a large number.
At one time there was the
odd place that served coffee - apart from restaurants. Then, shops set up for one type of commodity
would open up an unused upper floor and sell coffee, with all the extras, of
course.
More premises followed suit.
There was a drive at one time for
upper floors to be used for accommodation, and if the owners didn't want to
"live over the shop" there were plenty of people who did, it was argued.
I am not sure what became
of that. Clearly some people do live in flats in the centre of town,
although others are put off by the rowdies who invade the town at
weekends.
For the record, this is constantly being dealt with,
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but that is probably one reason why some shop
owners preferred to use the space upstairs for a coffeeshop.
The fact that even with so many coffee outlets there are
times when you cannot get a table for love nor money proves the need for the service.
Not that
there is a coffee shop on every street. Some streets don't have any while
Pillory Street has three.
When the local newspaper, The Nantwich Chronicle, closed its Nantwich
office in Mill Street, the premises were snapped up. Not for another office, but for a coffee shop.
And when a coffee shop closes
down - as happened during the 2020/2021 coronavirus pandemic - it is not
another coffee shop that takes its place. In fact, when one closed in
2021 a "high fashion London ladies' boutique".snapped up the lease.
One place that sells coffee is a
shop in name only. The Church Shop - more correctly the
Visitors' Centre - in the porch of Nantwich Parish Church is a small venue
for the sale of coffee and other drinks. (But not alcohol!)
Its main sales are church
booklets, guide books, postcards, a range of greetings cards, and more.
The church authorities are now planning to create a shop inside the
church in order to expand what is available with an area for coffee, etc.
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To be fair, I should state that another church premises to serve
coffee is the Methodist Centre in Hospital Street. That also has a range
of other snacks.
One "coffee shop" went
under the different name of a Tea Shoppe! A previous proprietor, genial Bob Hope
(yes, that's his real name) told me that that was the only tea shop in the
county. It seems that to be able to use that description you have to
sell at least 10 different teas as loose leaf. Those tea bags will not
do.
One
well-known organistion that had a coffee shop,
etc, in the town centre was St Luke's (Cheshire)
Hospice of Winsford. A notice appeared on the
window of their three-storey building in March
2017 saying they had opened their Swirly Whirly's
premises with the obvious aim of making money
for the charity.
But
they were not able to do as well as they hoped
and were reluctantly pulling out of Nantwich.
However, they eventually opened a new shop
elsewhere in town but no longer sell
coffee.
With a
couple of exceptions I haven't named all the
coffee shops to avoid this Letter looking like
an advertising feature. Then again, I would have
had to be fair and write Letters about all the other businesses. |
