Quality street
Five years ago it was named Britain’s Best High Street. But can the independent traders of York’s Bishopthorpe Road survive in the ‘new normal’? Sarah Freeman went to meet them. Pictures by Gary Longbottom.
are taken by email or over the phone. However, what they do offer is a personal service.
“We don’t have a minimum price order. If someone only wants half a dozen sausages that’s fine because this was never about making as much money as we can; it was about looking after customers who have been loyal to us.”
With a small reduction in opening hours, the money saved on wages meant they were able to keep all staff who wanted to keep working, employed throughout lockdown. Like all the Bishy Road traders it is unclear how the ‘new normal’ will impact the business long-term, but they remain optimistic about the future.
“We are on first name terms with a lot of our customers,” adds Matthew. “They come in for a chat as much as anything and obviously the atmosphere in the shop has changed as we can only have one person in at a time. We hope to keep the home delivery side of things going as that has been a real success and we will keep adapting. If we can survive the last few months, we can survive anything.”
If M&K are Bishy Road veterans, Noun is the parade’s baby. The boutique gift shop is a collaboration between Ellie McManaman and Gaynor Parr-Manley, who previously ran separate stores in the street. The pair marked Noun’s first
advantage of being an independent. You can be flexible and instantly adapt to a situation.” Noun is currently open four days a week with reduced hours to allow for cleaning and Gaynor says the response of the local community has more than compensated for the uncertainty of the last few months.
“One woman made a point of coming in just to tell us that she was so glad that we had been able to reopen. We have definitely felt the love of our customers and that makes all the effort worth it.”
Stories like that are one of the reasons why
Bishy Road was named Britain’s Best High Street in 2015. At the time judges praised the Traders Association’s forward-thinking attitude, which resulted in an annual street party, a website to promote the area and a crowdfunding initiative to pay for Christmas lights.
Julia and Steve Holding, who run the Pig and Pastry cafe, were among the traders who drove the change. Opening just as the credit crunch bit in 2008, at the time Bishy Road was home to a Bargain Booze and a greasy spoon cafe. Both those businesses were soon replaced by family-friendly eateries and prior to lockdown it was often hard to get a seat at the Pig and Pastry as locals queued for plates of smashed avocado and artisan chorizo. Those scenes are unlikely to be repeated for