Coronavirus: Latest news from West Midlands businesses

The Butchers Social, an independent pub-restaurant in Henley-in-Arden, has adapted to life in lockdown by becoming a high-street shop, selling local produce and take-away meals.

Mike Bullard, chef-owner of The Butchers Social, initially began preparing ready-meals for the residents of Henley-in-Arden to enjoy in the comfort of their own homes. Now The Butchers Shop is operating a full ‘click and collect’ service, sending shoppers a catalogue of products to order from ready for them to pick up in store.

The shop offers meats, milk and flour, a selection of beers and wines, and even household plants.

Last week alone, The Butchers Social’s shop has made some impressive sales in its newly adapted operation, selling over 150 Sunday lunches, 3,600 eggs and selling out of the restaurant’s famous chicken wings by 6pm on Saturday.

Bullard said: “It’s no secret that the hospitality industry is struggling to adapt under the circumstances, but we are trying to make the most of the situation. It’s been a great few weeks in The Butchers Shop; I am so happy that I can continue to support my local suppliers and it’s been amazing to see so much support from local people; I cannot thank them enough for helping a small business like mine and I hope we can continue to offer them the supplies they need through the coming weeks.”

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Shrewsbury’s first online marketplace has opened its ‘virtual doors’, with town centre businesses offering a variety of gift vouchers and experiences for sale.

Support Shrewsbury has been developed by Shrewsbury BID, supported by My Shrewsbury, to help businesses create an income during the coronavirus lockdown.

The website is open to all businesses in Shrewsbury and is free to join. Traders can use the platform to sell vouchers and experiences online.

These may be used to buy products now or when shops reopen following the crisis.

Seb Slater, executive director of Shrewsbury BID, said Support Shrewsbury would grow and evolve over the coming weeks and months.

He said: “We hope it will develop into a really useful platform with a number of valuable elements, from creating sales for businesses to providing a means for them to connect with each other.

“It will also be a virtual business community where business owners can share ideas and support each other, both during the coronavirus lockdown and beyond.

“We would like to thank the team at Web Orchard and everyone on the Shrewsbury BID steering group who have worked so hard to get this off the ground so quickly.”