A New Shop at Old Bank House

Tue 25 Nov, 11:30

It would be great if you could store some gluten free products too 

Mon 24 Nov, 21:22

Hi Chloe! Thank you for this and good luck with the new venture! I echo a lot of what others say organic vegetables (as coop has none) local organic/grass fed meat would also be great as many of us have to source  this online or from farm shops further afield. And I would also say an amazing example is Abbey Home Farm Shop ( Aka The Organic Farm Shop) near Cirencester, their range of organic and top quality products is amazing, plus they have a zero waste section. Upton Smokery has a fantastic chef who does takeaway meals on the weekend which is great idea, he has a small counter with many tasty dishes that you can walk in and choose, this is also a nice little idea because we are lacking healthy conveniences in Charlbury for the busier folk amongst us. 

Mon 24 Nov, 17:27

Hi Chloe

This is great. Best of luck with this new venture.

My vote would be for high quality food that cannot be found in supermarkets. Local if possible and especially if good value.  No UPF and no palm oil as a matter of policy.

For example:

- Things like smoked cod roe and kippers from Upton Smokery

- Fresh or frozen corn tortillas from Masa in Bristol.

- Cheese from King Stone Dairy in Chedworth (especially Yarlington, which is delicious!)

- Organic wholemeal bread. This seems to be almost impossible to find, even though non-organic wholemeal bread has the highest pesticide content of any food. 

- Fresh or frozen fish, sustainably caught. 
- Organic fruit and vegetables

Looking forward to the opening!

Martin

Sun 23 Nov, 16:31

Hi Chloe, it would be great if you could consider the opening times to make it accessible to those who commute out of Charlbury during the week. It would be great if there could be one weekday with a later closing time so that locals coming home by train could also be able to pop by on their way home through town. Thanks!

Sun 23 Nov, 16:15

Echoing what others are saying: Zero waste, local and affordable

Sun 23 Nov, 14:19

I'd love to see zero waste at the heart of your offering. Here's what The Market Garden in Eynsham offers (edited to complement your desire not to compete with other shops):

As well as our fruit & veg we stock a wide variety of local & organic produce ranging from bread, cheese & tinned goods to cleaning products.  We also have a large range of dried & liquid products available to refill, including cereals, nuts, seeds, pulses, herbs & spices, oils, tea & coffee, SESI cleaning & Faith in Nature bodycare products.

Sun 23 Nov, 09:23

Fresh fish. The visiting fishmonger is now only here for an hour on Tuesday late afternoons, and parks at a place on the very edge of town which is fairly inconvenient for those living at the top of town. 

Also Tuesday is the day when those over 60 may well have shopped at the Chippy Coop. It has a good fish counter and offers a 10% Senior discount on Tuesdays on everything in store. They also have a decent range of local produce, also student and NHS discounts, so you do need to research what they sell. 

Local meat, including Ditchley beef, also rabbit and free range chicken would be good. Also local veg, but prices do need to be competitive.

Non-alcoholic wines,  beers and spritzes for those who don't or can't drink alcohol. 

Sun 23 Nov, 05:11

"...fresh chilled high quality home made prepared meals...", if these were free of UPF ingredients and clearly advertised as such, you be at the cutting edge of the coming food 'revolution'.

Sun 23 Nov, 00:32 (last edited on Mon 24 Nov, 00:13)

It's a long shot, probably, but I would kill for a 99.   You know, soft ice cream with a chocolate flake.   It's been at least a decade ...  

Also - someone reminded me - rabbit.  In a pie, or ready for me to stew.   Yum.  

Sat 22 Nov, 20:57

Lot’s of cheese would be class. A variety of English sourced wine, sparkling and spirits would be a great addition. A little seating area out the front to drink them or have evenings with antipasti / snacks  would be even better.

Sat 22 Nov, 17:33

Hi Chloe. Can you source nitrite free bacon and ham? Thanks. Sarah

Sat 22 Nov, 17:27

Hi Emily

Thanks for this, yes, I should clarify, there will be no seating and this will be purely a food shop, this will allow lots of space for produce (so in essence there will possibly be a nod to all the formats you mention, and we hope to cater to a broad church in terms of budgets).

Obviously we have ideas and want to support as many local growers, farmers and suppliers as possible so we are in touch with many of those already. But the reason we’re holding a public consultation is to get a good gage of what people in Charlbury would like to see, so it would be great to see you at the meeting or hear your thoughts about things you’d like to see. Thanks! Cx

Sat 22 Nov, 15:34

What sort of shop are you and The Bull considering Chloe? Another Deli, a Butcher's, an organic farm shop, a bespoke supermarket etc.? Will there be a cafe or it purely a "buy and leave" scenario? I would assume The Bull and you already know the type of establishment that will be moving in.

I echo what Rhona has said that it needs to be affordable or at least reasonably priced otherwise it will only appeal to a select few and tourists who are visiting The Bull.

Sat 22 Nov, 13:10 (last edited on Sat 22 Nov, 13:14)

Thanks Chloe, and Rachel!

One idea I would like to put forward would be a ‘no plastic packaging’ concept. It is possible to achieve oven-ready part-cooked dishes without plastic, with the range of Charlie Bigham products, for example.

Sat 22 Nov, 12:11

Good to have another shop in Charlbury but please keep the prices reasonable.  If it is too expensive, a lot of people won’t be able to afford to use the shop even if they would like to. Gluten free ready meals etc would be very helpful for those who are coeliac.

Sat 22 Nov, 11:55

Noted!  Sorry Rosemary.  Thanks to everyone who has dropped me a line - all really useful so far.  Thank you!

Sat 22 Nov, 04:50

Chloe – that is such good news for you and Charlbury.

I have always felt that there is a market for fresh chilled high quality home made prepared meals for commuters coming home from wherever they have been and walking up from Charlbury train station. My career heritage was in food marketing and the target audience of Charlburians feels right for such a proposition, plus I love food.

Piloting ideas could help de-risk, or doing a survey to gauge interest in different options.

I would love to see coquilles St Jacques on the menu. Delicious but not something I would make myself. Also tapas and dim sum. Special recipes that you don’t see often in supermarkets e.g. Spanish chicken, paella, Chicken Fricasse, bouillabaisse etc. Also to cater for vegetarians and vegans with interesting and tasty take home items.

There is also a need for a Chinese offering in Charlbury, whether a van each week or something else.

I hope that food and wine matching events will be part of your thinking. #yumyum

When I moved to Charlbury about 15 years ago, Thai meals were being offered in the Horseshoes pub and there was a butcher.

Hope that helps?

Fri 21 Nov, 20:52

Just askin! Please call us Charlburians, Chloe! Not to be confused with librarians. 📘📓📗 ☺️

Fri 21 Nov, 18:53 (last edited on Sat 22 Nov, 11:54)

Hi Everyone

I hope this finds you well. As some of you know I am involved with setting up a new food and provisions shop at Old Bank House (the old Charlbury Deli site) with the team behind The Bull opposite.

My hope is to put together an offering that appeals to both Charlburians and visitors to our lovely town. I am conscious that this will mean a varied stock, and we’re currently talking to lots of local farmers, growers and makers. We will be liaising with the Deli as they bed-in at The Corner House to navigate what produce they decide settle on too – this way we can make sure there is as much choice as possible in town.

With that in mind we’d love to have some input from you! We’re hosting a meeting to hear about the kinds of things you’d like to see. Please join us at the back room at The Bull from 7pm-8pm on Tuesday 2nd December to say hello and let us know the kinds of things you’d like us to stock, the drinks will be on us.

If you’re unable to make the meeting and want to send some thoughts or have any questions or comments do drop me a line through this website.

Thanks in advance and hope to see you there! 

Chloe