COMMUNITY SUPPORT HELPED Lockside Café at Grindley Brook to survive its toughest year.
The family behind Lockside Café was badly hit by the canal closure after the Whitchurch breach cut of its boating customers.
Helped them
But tell the support of the local community has helped them through the tough year, and have been kept going by an outpouring of local goodwill after the collapse of the Llangollen Canal.
Jane Beaumont, who runs the café with son and daughter Chris and Rachel Burtonwood, (pictured) tells she could not thank people enough for the way they rallied round since the breach on the canal last Christmas:
“The support we have received has been amazing and has certainly made all the difference during a very difficult time. People have been so generous and kind. A GoFundMe page we set up has raised nearly £1,500 which has helped us stage new events and bring in much-needed income.
“But news that the canal will remain closed well into next year has come as a further blow. The next few months will be incredibly important for us and we hope the community will continue to show us the same wonderful support.”
Blackberry Fair
Jane told the Lockside team was looking forward to taking part in this Saturday’s Blackberry Fair in Whitchurch—the town’s biggest annual street party and one of the highlights of its social calendar.
“We’ll be set up inside at the event offering coffee and cake and a fresh supply of our famous home-made cheesecakes.
"It promises to be a fantastic day and will give us a chance to thank every one in person for their support and remind the town that we remain open despite the situation with the canal.
”The café is also staging a halloween-themed dog show on October 18th as well as a special day for walkers in November and a Christmas market in December to help boost trade."
Its future was itself thrown into doubt when the canal collapsed last Christmas, wiping out a large part of its trade overnight.
The Lockside Café sits alongside the A41 just outside Whitchurch and is open daily from 9am to 5pm.
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