Beanies Wholefoods: Moving to a new location
Much-loved independent greengrocer Beanies Wholefoods is on the move. But where to? And when? We had a natter with Rachael from Beanies to find out more....
We hear that Beanies is moving. Where will your new home be?
Yes! After over thirty years in the same location, Beanies is moving, but we're not going far. We're taking over the old doctors' surgery at 1 Barber Road for our main shop, and the old pharmacy building next door at 188 Crookesmoor Road, where we will soon be launching Beanies Café.
What's prompted the move?
We've grown into our current building over the years, but we're now at the stage where we've started growing out of it. We've been wanting to move for a while but hadn't found the right opportunity. When the two buildings became available we seized the opportunity to move and expand the business, whilst also maintaining our fantastic location and the customer base that we've built up over the last three decades.
There's a lot of work needed to convert the two buildings but it's well underway. The opportunity to have a customer car park and a café where customers can meet is also a very exciting opportunity for us.
We are hoping to expand our range of zero-waste products
What exciting plans do you have for the new place?
We're launching Beanies Café which will be a great place to visit before or after shopping. We hope to use the space as a focal point for the community, as a meeting space, as well as for hosting events, talks and workshops associated with the Beanies' ethos. There will also be the opportunity to use the café for pop-ups to showcase local food providers so if anyone is interested in using the space, please get in touch.
The new shop will allow us more space so we can stock a greater range of products, and it will finally be more accessible for our disabled customers and those with buggies as it will all be on one level. We are hoping to expand our range of zero-waste products as these have been growing in popularity in recent years. More space will also allow us the chance to host more tasting days and events in the shop itself.
After thirty years, you must have collected a lot of lovely customers and memories. Are we right in thinking you'd like to create an archive of people's Beanies' stories?
Our customers are the heart and soul of Beanies and we are so grateful to everyone who has shopped with us over the years. We've been able to watch people's children grow-up and see our regulars more as friends than customers. We're hoping to put together an archive of Beanies' memories from over the years so if anyone has any old newspaper cuttings, pictures, memorabilia or stories they'd like to share, please get in touch.
Will you need any help with the move? How can people get involved?
We don't have a set date for the move yet but we will definitely be looking for volunteers to help us move our entire shop and all its contents in as short a time as possible. If people could please email info@sheffieldbeanies.co.uk and let us know if they would like to help, we can add them to our mailing list and get in touch when we're nearer to moving day!
Flick Jackson
