Waste not, want not is the ethos – and name – of new town store
There is a range of essential items on offer, including nuts, beans, rice and pasta
A SHOP where you can fill up on items such as nuts, rice and pasta has opened.
Waste Not Want Not, on St Edward Street, Leek, is the brainchild of Jen Flavell and Mark Sidebotham from the town.
The pair officially opened the store last week.
Over the last year, the duo who are both from Leek, have worked hard to bring the zero waste store to life, and are drawing on their years of experience to make the store a onestop shop for all of your essentials and everything is free from single use plastic.
Customers can pop into Waste Not Want Not with their own reusable container - or purchase one for just 25p - and fill up on items such as nuts, rice and pasta.
As well as the zero waste goodies, you can also stock up on a range of tinned, jarred and other items made from recycled materials.
For the past 18 months, Jen had been working at Lidl, and Mark was the landlord of The Earl Grey pub in Leek, before it sadly had to close its doors due to Covid-19.
Co-owner Jen, 36, said: “Personally, I’ve really wanted to open the shop ever since I took a trip to Barcelona and saw a store like this in action.
“That was about two or three years ago, and I’ve had it in my head ever since. There’s not a lot of stores like this, especially in our area, so we wanted to bring something different to Leek.
“Covid definitely accelerated things for us, and last summer we seriously decided to go for it. Then it was a bit of lengthy affair to get everything sorted before we found these premises in February. We wanted to be in a good location, and here we’re in the centre of town.
“There have definitely been nerves prior to opening - I haven’t slept properly for a week! We wanted to make sure that everything was right and we wanted to be happy with everything.
“Mark and I are really good mates and we really trust each other. We’ve known each other for about 20 years, so we knew that going into business together was the right decision.
“Between us we’ve got experience in customer service and running a business, as well as a shared passion for the store.”
Waste Not Want Not also stocks items from other local businesses, such as soap and bath products made exclusively to be sold in the new store. The shop will also be stocking freshly made bread from Leek bakery, Live Love Loaf, every Friday.
Jen and Mark also have plans to stock organic veg in the near future, and they’re hoping to one day have a coffee machine in store too, to compliment their coffee bean selection.
Jen continued: “Our main focus is zero waste, and cutting down on single use plastic, because the amount used is just disgraceful.
“We also want to be convenient for people, and you can come in for your everyday essentials too. We have vegan and gluten free options, but that’s not all we have.
“We’ve always said that we’re Leek’s zero waste store - and a little bit more. We have lots of things up our sleeve for the future.”
Jen’s co-owner Mark was previously the landlord of The Early Grey pub in Leek, which sadly closed its doors last year due to the impact of the pandemic. He’ll be drawing on his business experience as he works with Jen in the new store.
Mark, 40, said: “The response we’ve had so far on social media has been overwhelming, it all went a bit mad.
“We want to encourage people to shop local, and smaller businesses are really pushing back at the supermarkets, who have really had the market over the past year.
“With a store like this, where everything is loose and you pick your own, it’s like we’ve really gone back to basics, to how things used to be. I saw something the other day that said, ‘50 years ago we were having milk delivered in glass bottles by a man in an electric vehicle,’ and that’s how things are now.
“We’re learning as we go, and we’ll continue to learn every day, but we can’t wait for people to pop in and see what’s on offer.”
Jen added: “We’re keeping a notebook by the till where we will keep customer requests. If we get the demand for something, then we’ll try to stock it.
“We want the shop to be a friendly and welcoming space. We want that interaction, where we can help people to find exactly what they need.”
You can find out more on the Waste Not Want Not Facebook page.
I’ve wanted to open the shop ever since I took a trip to Barcelona and saw a store like this
Jen Flavell