A small village newsagent is doing a roaring trade thanks to customers being able to have breakfast, lunch or tea while they catch up on the day's events. After taking over the "dingy" shop in the precinct shopping centre in Ravenshead, Lisa Hadley has turned it into a cosy, friendly cafe.
Customers can still buy papers, magazines and greeting cards but they can get a drink and snack at the same time at Rose's Pantry. Youngsters can spend their pocket money on Haribo, Refreshers, Premier League trading cards or the latest Barbie or Disney Pixar Lightyear magazine.
It was just before the start of the pandemic that Lisa saw the shop had become available. The former dinner lady jumped at the chance to run her own business and took over the lease. She and her husband Peter, who was furloughed from his job as business development manager for a computer company, gutted the building, installed a kitchen and decorated the shop in Milton Court, where a beauty salon, a solicitors and a chippy are among the neighbours.
