STARTING a new business during lockdown is a recipe for disaster? What a load of Old Cobblers.
And the owners of the Greenfield store, which has become such a pivotal part of the community, want to say thank you over a drink with those who have helped make it such a success.
Louise Henderson and David Bell – affectionately known, as the sign on the front of the Kinders Lane establishment says, as Lou and Badger – have wasted no time in taking a central role in village life.
They are definitely not local. Lou is originally from Leith in Scotland while Badger hails from Cornwall.
But they love Greenfield and it seems Greenfield loves them as they celebrate one year in business together on October 16.
And what better way to mark the occasion than by sitting down with some of the customers that have made the Old Cobblers, with some of the produce that helped them become so popular.
“My partner’s family is from around here, so I came walking for 10 years and I love it here,” explained Louise. “I’d also lived in Manchester for way too long and I wanted some countryside. That brought me here to live about four years ago.”
David added: “I lived in Manchester for 15 years and had a child. So we thought, ‘Let’s move somewhere nicer that’s still commutable. This was perfect. We came here for a few walks and thought, ‘Lets definitely move here’.”
Living here is one thing, becoming an integral part of the community is another. So The Old Cobblers idea was born and after a few adaptations, mainly because of the Covid-19 pandemic, it opened at the site of the former Walter Cox shop.
“It came about very quickly when we saw this place was for sale,” David added. “We’d talked briefly about doing something similar elsewhere but this became available, so we made a quick decision to go for it.”
Louise continued: “We opened more of a shop rather than a place to sit down and drink because of Covid-19 and lockdowns.
“We didn’t know how long it would go on for, so that pushed us more towards having a shop, which I think has been a good thing.”
Throwing open the doors to any new business can be nerve wracking. Throwing them open while the country’s landscape was changing from week to week brought something else.
But with their range of supplies, from coffee to beer to natural wine, with cheese, pies, brownies, crafts, candles and books thrown in, they were soon on to a winner.
So much so, they have linked up with other local business, they supply wine to Uppermill’s Weaver and Wilde while keeping that local flavour themselves.
“It’s good that the community has been able to get to know us faster,” added Louise. “Had we opened under normal circumstances, that might have taken longer.
“But because everybody was here, many people discovered us a lot faster than they otherwise might have.
“For me, and Badger too, the number one goal was to become part of the community. That was the only thing that mattered.
“We wouldn’t have opened a village shop otherwise. The aim was to support the community and bring them nice things.
“It’s gone crazy quick but at the same time we feel like we’ve been here for ages.”
David added: “Hopefully we’ve brought something nice to people and we’ve met some lovely people.
“We both want to stock as many local things as we can. We were both very satisfied by the response when we opened.”
And thanking the community for the way it has taken The Old Cobblers to its heart is part of why they want to welcome people in and thank them, with a new indoor seating area being created.
Louise said: “We just want to thank everyone for supporting us over this first year.”
