Bridgnorth cafe which closed due to coronavirus pandemic reopens as green sustainable shop
A popular tearoom in Bridgnorth that closed due to the coronavirus pandemic has reopened.
Giovanni’s Coffee Shop in High Town closed shortly after the UK entered lockdown, but owner Sam Amery has now reopened it as The Bridgnorth Refill Room.
The premises in Cartway, which adjoins Giovanni's Ice Cream Parlour, was too small to easily implement social distancing as a tearoom, owners said.
Now it will offer a range of items that people can use to fill and refill their own containers.
Sam said: "I stock a wide range of cleaning products, toiletries and food such as cereals and pulses, dried tea and coffee and pet food, all available for customers to fill their own containers with."
Sam has run the coffee and ice cream shop in the town for nine years.
She added: “The products are sourced from ethical, eco-friendly suppliers and where possible are local, organic and vegan.”
Sam continued to operate her ice cream parlour throughout lockdown and was able to offer tea and coffee as a take-out while planning her newest venture.
Reduce
“Like many others, I am taking on board that we need to do something to reduce waste and single-use plastics and because I couldn’t get refills easily on products that I used in my business and at home, I decided to open the shop," she added.
“This is so important for future generations and is just a small nod to what we have to do, but we have to start somewhere.
"Although I have over 20 years experience of running a business, it was my first venture into retail and a long time since I had launched something from scratch."
Sam worked with Bridgnorth-based Good2Great to help open the shop.
“What was really useful was talking to other start ups going through this unique time," she said.
"It is very easy to get wrapped up in the day-to-day running of your own business and forget how useful it is to get an outside perspective of what you want to do and to network.”
Sally Themans of Good2Great said: "It’s great to see another new shop opening in the town as it bounces back after lockdown, and especially pleasing to see one which helps us to become more sustainable."
