Tayvallich welcomes new shopkeeper
Tayvallich residents are delighted their essential village shop and popular coffee shop are being passed into the safe hands of new tenant Nicholas Mes.
The shop building has been there for as long as anyone can remember and was bought by the community in 2008. It has been successfully run by tenants since then but the current operator, Abigail Haworth, is moving on.
Since she gave her notice earlier this year, Tayvallich Community Company has been looking for someone else to take it on. The lease was first advertised in March this year but interested parties at that time were put off by coronavirus restrictions. However, a recent advertisement attracted more interest and Nicholas emerged as the ideal choice.
The shop is a vital hub for the village and the coffee shop, with its stunning waterside terrace, has become popular with locals and visitors.
Lockdown forced the temporary closure of the coffee shop, but the shop has remained open throughout and has been providing a delivery service to the community for essential supplies and for delicious ready-made meals. Abigail has been much praised by the community for her service and now plans to go back to her full-time career as a writer.
Abigail and Nicholas have been working together for the last few weeks to allow time for Nicholas to get to know the business and its customers.
Kevin Williams, chairman of Tayvallich Community Company, said: ‘Abigail has been providing us with a great service for the last two and half years and, during the lockdown, she stepped up to the mark. We are sorry to see her leave the shop but delighted she will be staying on as part of our community.
‘We were genuinely worried the shop would have to close but we have been incredibly lucky to attract Nicholas to take up this great opportunity to be at the heart of a vibrant community. His enthusiasm is encouraging.'
Nicholas has a background in owning and managing retail and food-related businesses in South Africa and took over Tayvallich Shop officially on September 1. His wife, Zelda, is a secondary school teacher in the North East of Scotland and will be joining Nicholas later in the year.
‘I am looking forward to taking over the shop and serving this special community,' said Nicholas. ‘My thanks go to Kevin and the Tayvallich Community Company directors for all the kindness shown to me during this transitional period. Thanks also to Abigail and her staff for all the help and understanding, and to the village community for their patience with a newcomer trying to learn all their names whilst hidden behind masks.'
The shop building in Tayvallich dates back many years and was extended in the 1990s to include a café. The last private owners tried to sell it in 2007 but the only offer they received was from someone who wanted to knock it down and build a house on the site.
Following public meetings, Tayvallich Community Company was formed as a non-profit making organisation with everyone aged over 16 in the area being, in effect, a part owner.
There was an immediate appeal for pledges to help to buy the shop building to which there was a huge response from residents and holiday homeowners. An application to the Big Lottery Fund resulted in a grant which, together with the pledges, paid for the purchase of the building plus a significant upgrade and the construction of the current coffee shop veranda and terrace.
An Awards for All grant in 2013 enabled the community company to refurbish the shop's interior and to upgrade paving outside.
‘We were genuinely worried the shop would have to close but we have been incredibly lucky to attract Nicholas to take up this great opportunity’