HOT-SHOT HITS THE SWEET SPOT!
Coggeshall striker Bantick is shaking it up
SAM BANTICK has always had a sweet tooth for goals – but now the Coggeshall Town striker is showing just that off the pitch too.
Sam’s Sweets n Shakes has been keeping the former AFC Sudbury, Cambridge City, Concord Rangers and Hashtag United man busy around football’s return.
Selling Cakes, 120 pickand-mix sweets, cake jars, ice creams, sundaes, personalised sweet jars, hot drinks, milkshakes, Bantick is showing anything you put your mind to you really can-dy it!
The 29-year-old has plunged most of his savings into the venture which he opened last month and was attended by X-factor star and Coggeshall joint-owner Olly Murs.
He’s spent months refurbishing the former sandwich shop in Dartford owned by his dad. And he couldn’t be happier with his new business inspired by a friend’s milkshake shop in Brentwood.
Worked hard
“I started to sell my sweets online because Covid prevented me from opening the shop when I wanted to and it went well,” Bantick told The NLP.
“Then, when the shop was available, we completely refurbished it from top to bottom — new floors, new ceilings, a new sign, everything. We worked really hard for a year with no real income at all — just the jars people were ordering along the way.
“I’ve spent a lot of my personal savings, so I’m kind of taking a gamble. But now the shops open we’re really busy and we’re getting really good feedback.”
That’s been helped by the support of Murs, team-mates past and present and some close friends.
“I’ve done all the refurbishments myself with help from a few close friends,” Bantick said. “I was there pretty much every day — ripping tiles off the walls, putting the sweets on the shelves.
“I couldn’t have imagined the shop any other way. I didn’t want to rush it.
“I could have opened a lot earlier but it wouldn’t have been where I wanted it to be. I could have opened without an ice cream machine, for example, and just started with sweets but I wanted it to be perfect. I’m really happy.
“It’s been stressful juggling with football, but nothing worth having comes easy and it’s where I want it to be now. I can leave the shop with people I trust and go to football without worrying.”
That’s showing with his late equaliser at Bury Town on Tuesday night his third goal in three games for the Isthmian Division One North club.
Routine
He returned this summer for his second spell at the Step 4 outfit and he’s enjoying football’s return after last year’s curtailed campaign.
“At first you think it’s nice to give your body a break for a month or so,” Bantick said. “But it’s more the social side and seeing the boys. It’s something I’ve done for years and seeing the boys on a Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday is your routine.
“I must admit I struggled not seeing the boys, missing the football and missing that routine.
“So it’s nice to have it back and hopefully we have no more breaks. I really enjoy it at Coggeshall. It’s nice to have scored some goals and hopefully we can kick on now.”