Village shops are crucial to the rural community, and one award-winning Post Office in Yorkshire is proving that. Emily Ashworth finds out more.
It is easy to see why there are people queuing outside the door of The Dales Store near Harrogate and it is not just for food, or the daily paper.What keeps people coming back to this quaint village amenity are the owners, Matthew and Andrea Walwyn, who took over the business 17 years ago.
They are at ease behind the counter, calling everyone who enters by name, already knowing what each customer has come in for on that particular day.
As you dip into the village of Birstwith, the shop and Post Office is one of the first signs of life for a good few miles, and since taking over, the couple has seen the store become a focal point for the community.
Both had busy jobs in the commercial world Andrea was the managing director of a catering company and Matthew a manager in the food manufacturing industry.
Andrea says: We were like passing ships in the night.
We decided to do something for ourselves and something that we love.
We are really passionate about this our belief is that every village should have a shop and we find it quite sad that when you drive through the countryside, you can go through five villages and theres no pub or post office.
It was, perhaps, by chance that the couple came across the opportunity to take on the store, which had always been run as an old style traditional Post Office.
Andrea says: We lived in Harrogate and as fate would have it, our daughter got a place at the local school.
We didnt know anything about the village and when we decided to change careers, we saw the shop was up for sale and knew we could do so much with it.
We wanted to fill it with local suppliers and its been ever evolving since.
We keep up with people who live in and around the area and what people want continually changes.
Community
As well as general Post Office services, the shelves are brimming with a variety of produce, with fresh deliveries every day from the local butcher and three supplying bakeries.
They put particular emphasis on supporting the areas farmers too, or food businesses just starting out.
Andrea says: Its nice because there has been a lot of success stories.
We had one farmer who had started to make his own sausages as a means of diversification and asked us to sell them for him first.
They also have key members of staff who are loyal to them, but Andrea and Matthew have invested in their team and like that their customers can always recognise the familiar faces. Their manager, Hayley, who hails from a local dairy farm, has worked for them for 10 years.
Hayley came as an apprentice, says Andrea.
We linked up with Harrogate College and they have enabled her to complete three levels of apprenticeships food and beverage, retail management and leadership and management.
To us, these are the next generation who will take over, and its not just a little village shop it is a vibrant business.
But lot has changed since lockdown, and their true value became apparent when the pandemic hit for some they even became their main and only point of contact.
Matthew says: We had a lady ring us from Devon because her parents live in the village nearby and had their delivery slot cancelled. They were an elderly couple who were beside themselves, so we started doing a click and collect system and delivery.
We had to make changes to cope with the level of business that suddenly appeared.
They had 60 volunteers out delivering, with Matthew out the door at 6:30am to sit outside the wholesaler to ensure he got the first produce off the shelf to stock the shop.
But it is more than simply delivering weekly shopping.
People have said that we were their lifeline in that pandemic, says Andrea.
One lady said we were the only people she had contact with.
We also have people in the village who cant get out and trust us with their bank card so we can get their pension. You cant stress enough how vital it is to have these services in the community.
It is the couples can-do attitude and love for their business that also saw them scoop a Countryside Leader Award in 2021.
After winning the regionals, they went on to become best village shop/Post Office 2021 champion and put it down to the support of those in the village.
Matthew says: We asked for peoples testimonials and we got floods of emails and letters.
To see what people think about you written on paper was humbling and it really touched us.
Regardless of whether we won, it was still a very special process to go through.
The couple made a video of the customers and how integral the shop is to everyday life.
Andrea adds: We had clips of Hayleys brother bringing her down to work on the tractor as it was heavy snow and one of the customers dancing in the shop. Its that whole idea of togetherness.
We wanted them to feel what its like walking through that door.
But its not just for us, its for the staff, suppliers and community.
It wasnt based on it being the most pristine, modern shop the judges said they just loved everything about us and what we came across as.
Contribution to the economy
According to the Association of Convenience Stores Rural Shop Report 2021:
- Rural shops provide employment for more than 126,000 people
- During 2020/21 rural shops have invested more than 197 million in their businesses
- 79 per cent of rural shops are actively engaged in their communities, with almost half of rural shops (42 per cent) making donations to a local food bank over 2020/2021
- 21 per cent of rural shops now provide a home delivery service of groceries in their local area
