A health and wellness café, a haberdashery, a pottery painting studio and a multicultural grocery store are expected to open in a new retail hub in Tamworth within the next couple of months.
The businesses are the first successful applicants of Town Hall Place, an affordable retail space being delivered as part of the multi-million-pound Future High Streets Fund regeneration project.
Brew health and wellness café will offer a selection of healthy food and drink such as bagels, salads, acai bowls, fruit sorbets, matcha, ices teas and protein and collagen shakes.
Amy Collins, who is behind the venture, said: “I’ve always been health conscious, especially with food, and I think there’s an opportunity for something like this in Tamworth. I’ve had the dream of owning a café here for a long time, but I haven’t found the right place at an affordable price. When this opportunity came up, I had to go for it!”
Fred Borson, who will open the Tropical Market, recently moved to Tamworth from Birmingham and currently works as a contractor for the civil service.
His grocery venture will offer raw African and Caribbean foods and cooking ingredients, including plantain, beans, yam, cassava, frozen fish and meats, herbs and spices.
Fred also hopes to bring the community together through cultural events such as cooking classes at the shop.
He said: “These are ingredients that you can’t buy in the local area. It’s a dream to have my own business, to serve the community and bring people together.
“People are trying to eat healthier with less reliance on ready meals, so we will provide the raw ingredients to help them do that. It’s about bringing the sunshine to your home.”
Castle Notions haberdashery also aims to engage with the community with owner Novel Wust planning workshops and social sessions in sewing, knitting, children’s crafts, sustainable fashion, upcycling, heritage crafts and theatre costume making.
The final confirmed business is The Paint Pot Studio, offering ceramic pot painting sessions for all budgets alongside a rotating programme of additional arts and crafts activities such as painting in different mediums, bubble art, T-shirt making and more.
‘Niche shops’ were the number one thing people wanted to see more of in the town centre during extensive community engagement carried out prior to the original funding bid being submitted five years ago.
Seven units have been created and Tamworth Borough Council is in negotiations with other potential tenants, although expressions of interest in the remaining units are still welcomed.
Council leader councillor Carol Dean said: “This isn’t just about filling the units; it’s about getting the right type of businesses in there that genuinely add to the town and provide new reasons for people to visit.
“With these first confirmed tenants, we believe we’ve done that, so it’s now over to shoppers to come and support these new businesses, which will hopefully have a snowball effect on the rest of the town centre.
“With the advice and support of our business team, the aim would be to help the new ventures grow to the point they can move to a more permanent vacant unit in the town.”
More information about Town Hall Place is available here.
