Take a look at our Christmas video on youtube
WHITSTABLE ACTORS TO CELEBRATE WHITSTABLE PRODUCE STORE’S SIXTH BIRTHDAY
Whitstable Produce Store celebrates its sixth birthday on Saturday 7 December and we are thrilled that Whitstable actors and Store ‘regulars’ Tanya Franks and James Barriscale will be cutting our birthday cake at 11am at the Store.
Every year, the Store commissions a birthday cake and Christmas decorations from local businesses. This year, the Whitstable Cake Company is creating the cake and the decorations are by The General Maker (Oy Wah Chung) who has designed and installed them for the last five years.
Owner Steve Jones says: ‘We look forward to our birthday every year, and with Tanya and James cutting the cake, this year will be ‘super special’. But every day is important, and we thank our customers, staff and suppliers for supporting us throughout the year. We can only do what we do because they do what they do. And I must give a special mention to Canterbury City Council’s Shop by the Sea campaign – we’re definitely seeing the benefits of their input.’
Whitstable Produce Store opened on Small Business Saturday in December 2013. We sell food and drink from Kent producers and suppliers to eat in and take away. For Christmas, we invite customers to create their own ‘bespoke’ hampers, choosing their festive treats so we can make them into gorgeous foodie gifts.
This year we won Retail Business of the Year from Independent Business Awards Kent (IBAK) and we were recently runner-up in the Kent Life Food and Drink Awards (Food and Drink Retailer). Previously we have been honoured to receive awards including Small Business Saturday’s Small Business 100, runner-up in the Observer Food Monthly Awards and in the Top 10 for the Great British High Street Best GB Twitter Shop.
For more information and photographs contact steve@whitstableproduce.co.uk
Steve Jones: 07767 615458 | Amanda Jones: 07771 640399
Twitter |Facebook | Instagram @Whitproduce
Whitstable Attracts visit from national shop local campaign
A big blue bus arrived in town on Friday 29th as part of the nationwide campaign Small
Business Saturday, championing the 5.8 million small businesses UK wide.
The bus arrived at 3pm for one hour outside of Birdies restaurant in Harbour Street
Whitstable. It set up its iconic blue sofa within the Whit Shop gardens to speak to some of
CT5’s small businesses.
December 7 th marks Small Business Saturday UK 2019 and encourages customers to make
a local choice when purchasing a product or service.
Interviews were undertaken with several of the town’s business owners, including Caroline
Mumford from Whitstable’s only CIC café, The Umbrella Café, Jo from Graham and Greener
Florists and Kjersti Uberg from the newly opened Drop Bear Kitchen on Harbour Street.
Businesses were asked about the importance of small businesses for the community, the
challenges for the smaller business and what it means to be supported by local customers.
Interviews will be uploaded across the week on the Small Business Saturday website and
social media feeds ahead of December 7 th .
The bus was invited by Whitstable’s own shop local campaign called Shop By The Sea.
Angela Furlong local economic support officer at Canterbury City Council said;
“We were very lucky to get the bus in town. It isn’t easy to park a bus of this size in a prime
town location, but when we knew the bus was coming to Canterbury in the morning, we
appealed for a visit to Whitstable due to the town’s high percentage of independent shops
and businesses. We were delighted that they could attend and we were one of only 27
locations across the UK. We want to show our small businesses in CT5 that we are
supporting them as much as we are able to, by highlighting their stories, services and
products to encourage more residents to choose local wherever possible. It makes such a
markable difference to not only our economy, but our community as a whole.”
Small Business Saturday UK is a grassroots, non-commercial campaign, which highlights
small business success and encourages consumers to ‘shop local’ and support small
businesses in their communities.
The day itself takes place on the first Saturday in December each year, but the campaign
aims to have a lasting impact on small businesses.
On Small Business Saturday, customers across the UK go out and support all types of small
businesses, online, in offices and in stores. Many small businesses take part in the day by hosting events and offering discounts.