Village shop transforms into cafe to the delight of locals

The Shop, on Church St, Upton Grey, is owned by Suki Subarnan, 43. Suki, who lives and also owns a shop in North Waltham, has owned the shop in Upton Grey for 12 years.

Suki opened the new shop layout and cafe on March 18, to the delight of the local community and passing drivers and cyclists.

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The new layout includes room for tables and has even extended the front of the building to include a decking, which houses a number of tables for outdoor seating.

The cafe offers a range of hot and cold drinks, sweet treats and warm toasties and paninis, currently, although Suki said he plans to increase the menu in the coming months.

The Shop is currently open between 8am-6pm Monday to Saturday, and open from 8am-1pm on Sundays. 

Suki said: "The cafe is already becoming popular in the community which is great to see. We get lots of people driving and cycling past, who have since decided to stop in for a drink and something to eat.

"It's exactly what we hoped for by converting the shop layout and the amount of customers we have had in has been fantastic. The community has also got right behind The Shop which is exactly what we wanted."

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Suki plans to install parking for cyclists along the edge of the car park too. He said: "I had a group of cyclists who came in last week and really liked what we had done here. They said they were planning on coming back in a bigger group this weekend which is great, so I'd like to be able to accommodate a safe place for them to store their bicycles while they enjoy a drink, a chat and a sit down."

Suki added: "Overall we are really happy with how the first couple of weeks have went. We've had good trade, and people have said really positive things who have used us since we converted the shop to include this cafe. It's great and long may it continue."