BUISNESSES on Bromsgrove High Street have reopened their doors after more than three months of being closed.
Bromsgrove High Street was bustling with people as non-essential shops reopened and cafes and restaurants resumed outdoor service.
On January 6, non-essential shops, pubs, restaurants and coffee shops were forced to close due to the COVID pandemic, so shop owners were excited to start trading once again.
Vicky Linton from Bromsgrove said its great to get outside the house and took her children to get their feet measured. She said: “I have missed the shops and going to a café for a cake so much. I also love going to the pub when we can get babysitters for the children. Its great I can do both again now. The high street is really busy today but I do feel safe due to the strict covid measures every business has in place.”
Jamie Leavesly, owner of Coffee 2 coffee shop, was so happy to be serving customers outside again. He said: “I’m so happy to reopen this shop, but it will be interesting to see how things will run on a smaller capacity than normal. We have put more tables and chairs outside than normal and have a cover to protect people form the elements. Its great to see all the regular customers!”
Janania Perkins, owner of De Martino Café was apprehensive to reopen, she said: “I have been a bit worried to reopen as I have had to dismiss my staff due to the effect the pandemic has had on my business so I didn’t know how busy I would be. Its made me so happy to see and chat to my regular customers again though.”
Paul Gilbert, owner of Sew Stuff, was looking forward to the reopening date for weeks. The shop usually does not open on Mondays, but Paul wanted to reopen as soon as he could. He said: “We are limited the amount to people in the shop at one time, with hand sanitiser dotted around the shop. We have been busy today, but I expect to be busier tomorrow due to the reopening of the market. I feel people will prefer shopping on high street rather than in shopping centres as people can shop in open air., it is the safest place really. I just hope for all of us on the high street that the trade comes back!”
We are launching our Love Local Business campaign to encourage people to spend their money locally as they emerge from months of restrictions and closure.
Love Local Business follows on from the successful campaign, of the same name, which we ran in the Advertiser last summer and over Christmas.
The aim is to promote all the fantastic traders we have in our towns and urge our readers to give them their custom at this key time as the struggle to overcome the financial implications of the pandemic.
As part of the Newsquest publishing group, the Advertiser reaches a huge percentage of the local population across our well-established regional brands including print publications, record online audiences and social media.
Any business which wants to be featured in the campaign call 01905 742372 or email dale.godliman@localiq.co.uk.
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