If you’re a regular visitor to Philo’s Espresso Bar & Eatery at the corner of High Street and Church Street you will possibly already have noticed a growing selection of craft and other gift items on sale there.
When the former Tanner’s Estate Agents office closed last year, and then became part of Philo’s own premises, the extra room allowed the Ruddington family business to greatly expand its range. They’ve now officially launched this additional area as a dedicated space for gifts and cards. All you need to do is follow the arrow through from the main café to discover a most impressive array of Christmas decorations, present ideas and greetings cards.
Manager Jess Hutchings explains: “We’ve got lots of different ranges, with brands like Sophie Allport and East of India. For Christmas this year the trends seem to be quite woodland themed, so we’ve got plenty of woodland animals and feathery things, along with beautiful glittery trees, baubles decorations and fairy lights. We have Christmas mugs, plates, aprons, oven gloves…”
Owner, Lucy Towne, who took over Philo’s fourteen years ago, adds: “There’s a whole ‘animal’ range – from little Christmas badgers to tiny mice on skis – and some lovely animal-themed Voyage cushions. We’ve everything from full table settings with runners, cloth or paper napkins, to crackers and candles, and lots more. Most of our gifts are actually under £20 – and we have greeting cards and Christmas cards, too.”
Jess reveals: “As a family we’ve always enjoyed going along to the gift fairs, to buy new items and make the shop look nice, so it’s great we’ve been able to expand our ‘hobby’ alongside the coffee shop so people don’t have to leave the village to buy what they want.”
Running the shop on a day-to-day basis, in tandem with the core café business, are Joy Bunting and Jamie Battersby (pictured top), along with long term chef Pam, also offering eat-in, take-away and business lunches which can be delivered locally in their refrigerated van.
“We’re very excited to be able to offer all this to Ruddington’s Christmas visitors” says Lucy. “Everything we buy for the shop is what we all love, suiting our brand and our own characters. What’s more, if you quote “JOYFUL” when you come into the gift shop, we’d be delighted to give you a FREE Philo’s Cotton Bag to take your goodies away in. So please come in and visit us!”
Both the café and gift shop are open from 8am to 5pm Monday to Saturday and 9am to 3pm on Sundays, and that will be extended for ‘late night shopping’ until 7pm on the last four Wednesdays before Christmas, in line with some other traders in the village. You can ‘phone Philo’s to find out more on 0115 914 44 40 – or email hello@philosdeli.co.uk.
