Community shop opened in Tim Henman’s local pub

The Chequers Inn, at Aston Tirrold, opened its volunteer-run community shop on 1 last week, selling entirely local produce, including vegetables grown by villagers, homemade cakes and chutneys.

Set up in the pub’s lobby, the shop will open initially from 9am-12 noon from Friday to Sunday.

The pub was recently praised by former number one British tennis player Tim Henman, who lives nearby and said his ideal Saturday evening would be spent at the pub.

The shop was the idea of publican and chef Olivier Bouet, who runs the pub and restaurant with wife Stephanie and business partner Stephane Brun.

They were regional winners in the 2013 Community Hero Awards run by Enterprise Inns, winning £5,000 to spend on a community project of their choice.

Local produce​

Bouet said: “We’re providing a service for the village. It’s called a shop, but basically it’s a market to which local people can bring their produce; everything from vegetables and jam, to locally reared pork and croissants made by me.

“It’s involving the whole village, including children, and is something a supermarket cannot do. We’re starting small, but hope it will grow into something bigger.”

Stephanie added: “There’s no village shop in Aston Tirrold, so we thought what better way to use our £5,000 winnings than to open one.

 “It’s certainly something people have been getting very excited about, and there are lots of volunteers keen to get involved. We’re very lucky to have a community that really comes together.”

Enterprise regional manager Daniel Oakford said: “This is precisely the sort of initiative we love to see, and are really keen to encourage our publicans in making their pubs community hubs.”