Eagle-eyed shoppers on High Street may have spotted a notice that’s appeared in the window at Ruddington’s historic greengrocers’ premises – the sudden and unexpected closure of which caused such shock and dismay in our village almost a year ago.
The blue sign at Glyn Thomas‘s old shop – bought and refurbished last year by the Patel family of Ruddington Post Office next door – reveals an application to Rushcliffe Borough Council “for the Grant of a new Premises Licence to include the provision of sale of alcohol for consumption off the premises.” There’s a deadline for representations of 11th March 2019. Providing this application is granted, we can reveal that 2, High Street will soon become home to a brand new retailer called The Bottle Top – selling craft beer, cider and premium spirits plus a small selection of local, “artisan” produce.
Business owner Anthony Preston is no stranger to the licensed trade, with his background being in hospitality. He currently manages a portfolio of 16 pubs as an area manager for a national pub chain – as well as having his own mobile bar company. Wife Alex will be helping run the shop with him, so it’s going to be very much a family business. She also has experience in hospitality and retail management – with a law degree thrown in for good measure!
Anthony told RUDDINGTON.info: “I’m not from the village, I’m originally from Liverpool. My wife and her family grew up in Nottingham and West Bridgford. We are currently living in Clifton after relocating from Lancashire to be nearer to Alex’s mum, who is just round the corner. Alex’s sister lives in the village and we hope to be here too, if all things go to plan.”
So why choose our village to launch their new shop?
“Ruddington has always been somewhere we have enjoyed and spent a lot of time, particularly for Alex when growing up” explained Anthony. “We often pop in the cafés, shops and the park with the family. It’s a fabulous village with a great sense of community. We can see real potential in the high street there and a gap in the market for what we hope to offer.”
They’re planning to stock around a hundred types of local, national and international craft beers, ciders and premium spirits to begin with. “Also we are very passionate about protecting our environment and are increasingly aware of how much businesses impact the environment. In the future we hope to install a growler station to allow customers to fill straight from the pump and reuse bottles.”
But that’s not all!
Anthony added: “We aim to introduce a small offering of fresh produce and deli items in homage to its previous tenants which was a loss felt by the community in Ruddington. We have plans to introduce a zero waste section in our produce offering, for example grains and pulses dispensed rather than packaged. From the start we will be offering reduced rates to those who return glass bottles for recycling, using recyclable materials for packaging and so on.”
Due credit for bringing this business to our village should be given to postmaster Soham Patel – who helped to form a ‘traders’ task force’ to breathe new life into our High Street when the greengrocers closed. He’s been looking long and hard for a unique retailer to replace Thomas’s – one ideally also prepared to do an offering of fruit and veg! Soham said: “I would like to welcome this new business idea to the centre of Ruddington and wish them success.”
If all goes to plan, Anthony and Alex will crack open “The Bottle Top” at the start of April.
