FROM Track and Trace to takeaways, face coverings to firebreaks, and live streams to lockdowns, businesses have had to think on their feet to merely stay on their feet during the “unprecedented times” of the COVID-19 pandemic
This week (March 23) marked the second anniversary of the first UK lockdown, as businesses were forced to temporarily cease trading in the fight against the coronavirus.
More lockdowns, and countless acts of easing and tightening restrictions, have since ensued in Wales and the UK as a whole – but two years on, some North Wales businesses are still standing.
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Not only that, but others even took the mid-pandemic plunge, opting to open new businesses since the onset of COVID-19.
We spoke to a number of traders from across the region to hear how they adapted, or indeed started, their businesses during these tortuous last two years.
Gemma Williams (The Little Cheesemonger, Rhuddlan and Prestatyn)
Initially, I shut the shop in Rhuddlan on the first lockdown for about four weeks, and then started doing small local deliveries until about May 2020. By then, I'd opened up properly again.
It was a worry in the beginning. How would we survive? Having a "captive" audience meant sales were OK; we managed to push through, and in 2021, we did virtual online cheese and wine tastings, which I would never have done if not for lockdown.
The locals really wanted to support their nearby businesses, and it showed.
I opened a second premises in December 2020 in Prestatyn. The main challenges in getting it up and running was delays on materials and traders. We had to be open before Christmas.
Also, (there was) the worry that one or all of the staff, including myself, might catch COVID - how would we trade over Christmas? You can imagine we get so many orders for Christmas and certainly would have gone bust if we were unable to fulfil because we were “pinged”, or positive.
Christmas 2020 was actually OK; we were all fit and healthy. It was Christmas 2021 that was a huge struggle, with staff being in close contact to someone positive, or having to isolate after a holiday, or testing positive right at the peak time.
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Trade has been impacted by the loss of the High Street banks, storms, price rises, war and a general sense of "unease". I'm seeing many local businesses deciding to down scale, or even closing.
I'm confident that, if we have a spring and summer of sunshine and health, then we will all be able to cope with rising costs, because we will have tourism, and the one thing we've been missing in 2022 – footfall - to help trade pick up.
www.facebook.com/LittleCheesemonger
Anne Arkle (Jaspersparkle silver spoon rings and jewellery, Anglesey)
As an established company of 11 years, at Jaspersparkle, we annually attend about 60 shows across the country, ranging from county shows, to the Royal Welsh Show, and food festivals. For two years, all shows stopped!
Although we sell from our website and social media, it was a big hit losing so much revenue and not being able to meet our customers face to face.
We just had to adapt and “think outside the box”, so we decided to try some “live” Facebook shopping events, which would run for one hour.
Luckily, we had a great following on social media, so we took the plunge - we wanted to re-create the interaction that our customers were missing.
We set up our Jaspersparkle gazebo in our garden, and (husband) Ray would film “live” from our Facebook page as the eyes and ears of our customers.
He would read out customers’ comments on the feed in real time, I would serve from the stand and respond while showcasing various items.
The fun part was the spontaneity and unpredictability of going “live”; we didn’t know how many would watch, or what might happen out of our control.
This turned out to be hilarious at times - wasp attacks, noisy aeroplanes flying over, our dogs barking, and on one occasion, our cat, Sparky, decided to launch himself onto the stand!
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These have been a great success and still are, as we continue to hold these events.
We love the great banter, too; customers would tune in on Sunday mornings from the UK and beyond, we had customers from USA and France watching and buying, often chatting to each other on the live feed, with Ray reading this out so I could interact.
Not only did this help us by producing sales, it also kept Ray and myself going, connecting with people, having some silly fun.
We even created a character (me in a wig and buck teeth) - our resident historian "Cissy Bartholomew-Laithwaite" introduced each event with historical facts about silver or silver spoons.
Once we were able to attend some local outdoor evets, we decided to use plastic screens along the front of our stand.
This created a way for us to control the situation; customers could indicate which spoon ring they liked, we would then ask them to apply sanitiser before passing the spoon ring over for them to try on. Prior to COVID, obviously customers had full access to all our rings.
Business is still slow at the moment, but with show events now opening up this year, we are hoping for the best.
www.facebook.com/jaspersparklespoonrings
Sara Turner (Green Island Delivery – vegan/plant-based food delivery service covering Abergele, Kinmel Bay, Rhyl, Prestatyn, St Asaph and Rhuddlan)
I started Green Island Delivery from home in June 2020. I was furloughed from my job as a sales manager and used the time to start this business.
We followed all of the COVID protocols, with mask and glove-wearing and contactless deliveries. Our customers loved the fact that they could get a delicious vegan meal delivered during lockdown.
As restrictions eased in the summer, an opportunity arose for us to move the business to a permanent outlet in Rhuddlan High Street, and I started Green Island Bistro.
We ensured our menus were laminated and easy to clean, installed COVID screen dividers, had hand sanitiser available at the entrance, and as well as Track and Trace and barcodes, we also had to take down each customers’ details, which proved challenging when trying to deal with a busy lunch service.
We would ensure every table and menu was cleaned after each use to minimise the chance of spreading the virus.
We were welcomed by the local and vegan community and business was good; however, December 2020 meant another lockdown, which meant closing, and we could only offer takeaway which hugely affected our business.
We kept open only for a few hours a week to offer takeaways to our local customers. We were delighted when we could open again in May 2021 and again, business was busy throughout the summer to Christmas.
We also saw restrictions easing, which meant we could get rid of the screen dividers and didn’t have to take customers’ details. However, we did and still do clean each table and menu after every use.
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2022 has been a slow start for us. We are hoping things pick up soon with the better weather and holiday season starting, but feel that the cost of living, COVID cases soaring, and the war in Ukraine is having a huge impact on people’s spending habits, which then impacts on businesses.
Things are feeling more normal now, though, and we are able to organise events such as our mindful mandala and crochet workshops, and our vegan market on June 26.
We’ve also been nominated for best cafe/bistro in North Wales by Food Awards Wales, and will be attending the awards evening in Cardiff on April 11. It’ll be nice to go to an event of that size again without restrictions.
www.facebook.com/greenislanddelivery
Michelle Mellor (Harrisons Cafe and Bar, Rhyl; Mickys Professional Catering Company)
COVID had a massive effect on business as we are in hospitality; probably the worst-hit sector throughout the whole pandemic.
From guests scared to come out or shielding and no groups over six, to all functions cancelled, weddings postponed and no celebration of life. Being at Prestatyn Golf Club at the time, we depended on the extra events to sustain the business.
The team found it extremely difficult as they were furloughed, and had little or no contact with the outside world.
I carried on, creating afternoon teas, party packages, three-course home dine meals, meals in the community through social services, buffets and picnics – anything to pay the bills and keep the business afloat.
Being a small business and self-employed, it was soul-destroying, as we were exempt from all of the Welsh Government grants. After six months, we were then eligible for some financial support; this then gave us a lifeline to survive.
When we were allowed to re-open, the golf club took the decision to cancel all of my events that I had booked in for that year. This was the last news that, as a business, I needed after the 12 months prior.
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This is when I made the decision to move, relocate and run my business for me and my guests, and be a local hub for all around.
I now franchise Harrisons on Wellington Road, Rhyl from Stephen and Lisa Darby (Busy Bee Taxis). It has been an amazing nine months, and sales have rocketed.
Guests’ eating habits have changed, and a lot still do not venture out. We adapted and run a successful takeaway menu, and also have a thriving business model through Uber Eats, meaning all can enjoy the experience.
We have a team of nine working for us now, who I train and develop to ensure a fantastic welcome and memorable experience for all who visit. We are looking to develop more through the kitchen and front of house to strengthen as we expand the business.
The highlight of this year, and the whole pandemic ending, is our move to providing mobile meals for our surrounding community. The feedback we have had has been mind-blowing, and worth all of the stress sorting at the last minute.
I am looking forward with the team to a new, even better menu ready to launch in April, and a successful year ahead.
www.facebook.com/Route66atdarbeys
James Wright (Managing Director at Aber Falls Whisky Distillery, Llanfairfechan)
It affected Aber Falls Distillery in different ways. We didn’t lose any staff as we changed people’s roles accordingly – such as moving those in events to roles on the factory floor.
This gave them a great opportunity to learn more about distilling, as well as giving Aber Falls extra capacity to ensure we maintained our seven-day operation.
We also maintained our production levels, but our sales and turnover was affected. This was, in part, down to the fact that te hospitality industry came to a complete standstill, so we lost the majority of on-trade revenue.
Maintaining the logistics to ensure we had all the goods for production was also a challenge, causing major delays like the opening of our Visitor Centre (May 2021), which opened a year later than planned.
The issues we’ve faced are not from COVID alone; Brexit and environmental issues continue to pose challenges.
The Visitor Centre is open now but we still are seeing the affects with capacity restrictions and staffing, for example.
“Our biggest high was launching our Inaugural Whisky in May 2021, which was really well-received, followed by our 2021 Single Malt Welsh Whisky in September. These are two big positives in Aber Falls’ life cycle.
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We’ve also developed a successful online business during the last two years, and our whisky is starting to hit shelves across supermarkets UK-wide and enter a number of international markets – so we’re definitely focusing on the positives.
Things are going to be different moving forward. We are now looking at inflationary issues, and think the next 24 months could be even rockier than the previous two years.
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