‘Our little village shop has been a lifeline’
Ruth Crocket, 66, lives in Hitcham, Suffolk, with her partner Warren, 65.
I moved to Hitcham in 2005, quite by chance, after my house purchase in nearby Sudbury fell through. I moved into a rental property, fell in love with the village and never left!
When I first arrived, there was a small shop and pub, essential to the village. But in 2014, the pub closed, despite a community effort to rescue it.
Then, worse news: in 2015, we heard the shop had been put up for sale too. At the time, I was working in risk management for a major bank in London, but I’d often wished my work was more people-focused. Perhaps this was an opportunity to change that. Having stayed in my rental, I still had funds from my house sale. I took a risk and made an offer.
In April 2015, I took over the shop premises. I was still working part-time at the bank, so put together a marvellous team who worked hard to transform the shop. Over the years, the place had become cluttered and unwelcoming. Chillers were noisy and spat out hot air, and there was a mass of trip hazards on the floor. Once the premises were improved, we were successful in encouraging people through the doors, but by 2018 we still weren’t making a profit and I began to worry – especially as I no longer worked at the bank, having been made redundant in 2016. Had I made a mistake?
It took a pandemic to change our fortunes. In 2020, village shops became a lifeline. With support from the parish council, we started a delivery service – and locals began to use us more. Plus, we had personal relationships with our bakery, meat and veg suppliers, who pulled out all the stops to keep us going.
As a result, people discovered the shop anew, and developed a greater appreciation of what we offer to the community. Many have remained loyal to our little business, and I’m cautiously optimistic about the future.
‘Our suppliers pulled out all the stops to keep us going’