Pateley Bridge shops ‘bounce back’ from lockdown

Pateley Bridge saw the “busiest Monday it has had in a long time” as locals headed to the shops.

The majority of shops opened on June 15 with the rest opening by the end of the week. A number of shop owners said they’d seen a positive response with the majority of customers making purchases rather than just browsing.

Keith Tordoff, owner of The Oldest Sweet Shop in England told The Stray Ferret that he is confident that Pateley Bridge shops will “bounce back very quickly.” He said:

“I think most people realise that we need to not leave it any longer. If it went on any longer there would be a question mark over some businesses surviving.”

Read more: 

Inside the Oldest Sweet Shop in England.

Similarly Tim Ledbetter, owner of Sypeland outdoor shop said that yesterday saw “proper customers”, as everybody who went into the shop bought something. He told The Stray Ferret:

“It’s really positive and everyone’s pleased to be out shopping for something other than essentials, everyone is doing what they should be doing. It’s nice to be back. There’s a great community spirit and everyone’s pleased to see things back up and running.”

As well as retail shops, a number of cafés have opened delivering takeaway food and drink. Cocoa Joe’s, a café serving hot and cold chocolate drinks, said its first day back was busier than a normal Saturday.

Boroughbridge is a “small, safe bubble” say shop owners

The shops in Boroughbridge are now open, following lockdown. One shop owner called the town a “bubble” and suggested that was a reason shoppers felt comfortable to return.

The small market town did not see the long queues at stores other towns saw yesterday.

Shop owners were optimistic though for a positive return to trading. Sue Hufton who owns Issima, a gift shop in Boroughbridge, felt confident about the reopening:

“Nobody has questioned any of our safety measures, we’ve had customers waiting to come in for a while. Boroughbridge is a bubble its a small place, I think because its smaller people feel safer to come and visit us. Many are happy to come in and buy our products.”

Issima was one of many shops that opened today.

Read more: 

Similarly, one shopper agreed the size of the town made her feel confident to shop. Honour Wearden told The Stray Ferret:

“Its only a small market town and they seem to be looking after people quite nicely, its well sign posted and you get gel when you come in. You feel quite happy because it seems normal, its well organised and there are measures out to help. I appreciate what they’re doing, I feel quite comfortable here as in the bigger shops I feel quite uncomfortable but here its more or less normal.”

Not all shoppers felt comfortable, Lynne Crane was still cautious of the shops reopening, she said:

“I think people are still going to be very wary of going into shops and I think it’ll take us a while to get back to normal. I feel bad for the shop owners as they’ve been desperate to open but there doesn’t seem to be crowds of people out. I’ve decided that I’m not going to just go in to browse I’ll only go in if I need something.”

Store owners optimistic as Knaresborough shops reopen

Knaresborough was busy this afternoon as shops opened their doors for the first time since lockdown.

Shop owners were feeling optimistic as they took their first tentative steps to reopening.The town’s independent shops were hopeful for a sense of normality to follow their reopening.

All of the shops had safety measures- each had its own measures in place including cleaning stations and one-way systems.

Jordan Thompson owns women’s clothing store Harriet’s in Knaresborough, the store is operating at a maximum of three customers in the store at a time. She told us:

“I’m feeling excited and a little anxious today, but we’ve already had a few customers come in and purchase items. We have to get back to some kind of normality, although it’s going to be a change in normality with the gloves and masks and social distancing, we still need to get back to some sort of normality.”

Martin Sturdey, the owner of Zigzag, a cards and gifts shop in Knaresborough, said:

“We’ll probably have quite a good few days and then it’ll tail off and then build up again, its just difficult to predict. The good thing about Knaresborough is theres lot of independent stores and people want to support us. All we can do is take all the precautions and see what footfall is like. I think it’s going to take the rest of the year to slowly pick up as people gain confidence and return.”

Stations such as these are present in many of the shops in Knaresborough to encourage customer safety.

Read more: 

Knaresborough town centre didn’t see the queues that other towns across the country did, but many shoppers still came out to browse. One happy shopper told The Stray Ferret of her experiences, Linda Humphrey said:

“I feel confident in shopping again today, I’m being sensible I have my mask and sanitiser with me. There’s been no problems in the shops I’ve been to, everybody is doing what they should be. I’m doing my dads shopping today and I’ve had no issues today or when I’ve been in previous weeks. I’m glad it’s like this again.”

 

 

Bettys to reopen Harrogate and Harlow Carr shops

It may not be the traditional tea room experience, but Bettys will reopen its Harrogate and Harlow Carr shops later this month.

The flagship Bettys store in Harrogate will be one of the first to open on June 22, with the Harlow Carr shop following in its footsteps on June 29.

All of the Bettys cafes will remain closed until further notice.

Read more on this story 

Both will offer a range of wrapped cakes, chocolates, biscuits, teas, coffees, gift boxes, hampers, and takeaway hot drinks. Freshly baked products on sale will include the famous Yorkshire fat rascals, as well as a selection of breads and pastries.

The Bettys management team will limit the number of people in its shops, provide hand sanitiser by the entrance and floor markers to guide people.

Kirkgate Ripon flies the flags for NHS workers

Today’s 8pm tribute to the NHS workers has a colourful addition in one Ripon’s most prominent locations.

Red, white and blue bunting, consisting of flags and a message to the NHS reading ‘Big Thanks to our Amazing NHS Workers’ have been strung across  the bottom half of Kirkgate and fixed to the premises of shops and restaurants.

The street, one of the city’s prime shopping and leisure destinations, sweeps down from Market Place to Ripon Cathedral.

In addition to the bunting, numerous of the commercial premises, such as Pizzeria Ristorante Italiano (pictured above) have signs in their windows reading ‘Thank You NHS Heroes’ – this includes signs in businesses that have been temporarily closed because of the coronavirus crisis.

Marco Chessa, who has been running the pizzeria with his parents Mario and Maria, since the family moved to Ripon 16 years ago, told The Stray Ferret:

“It’s great to be flying the flag for the NHS and other front line workers, who put themselves in harm’s way every day to look after the rest of us. These are strange times indeed, but we should never lose sight of exactly what our healthcare workers are doing for us.”

The Mayor of Ripon, Councillor Eamon Parkin, who has a large sign paying tribute to NHS and frontline workers fixed to a wall at his pub, The Magdalens, from where has been hosting Thursday night tributes to key workers in his neighbourhood for the past seven weeks, said of the Kirkgate traders’ tribute:

“This is yet another example of the way in which our city, with its strong sense of community, is showing the kind of unity and support that will eventually see the end of this crisis.”