A popular bar in Newcastle-Under-Lyme believes that offering customers something unique is one of the ways to help the town flourish following lockdown.
Ten Green Bottles in Merrial Street is an artisan gin and craft beer bar and retailer, offering lots of local spirits as well as beers from all over the world.
The family-run business started in their hometown of Newcastle-Under-Lyme in 2015 and soon opened another bar in Stone, but their goal of offering the town something distinctive has never wavered.
“We want to make the customer something a bit special and provide something different in the area,” explained owner James Froggatt.
“When we opened five years ago, we felt it was because we were offering something that was different and unique, and we still feel that way now.”
Like most businesses in the town centre, Ten Green Bottles has been affected by Covid although James is optimistic that there is now an opportunity for everyone to try new things.
“Covid has without doubt been the biggest challenge since we opened,” he said.
“We used to be open from Monday to Saturday, but since the lockdown we have only been able to open from Thursday to Sunday. People’s buying habits have changed, but as a business we keep finding ways to innovate.
“The Covid pandemic means that you need to reinvent yourself to get people back into the area. That’s one of the key challenges we face right now.”
James believes that the BID can continue to take a proactive approach to supporting businesses by listening and trying new things despite the challenging environment.
“It’s never easy!”, he said. “Things like outdoor street markets could help as we have seen in other towns. I think above all it’s important that the BID keeps listening to businesses.
“Newcastle is our hometown. We want it to do well, and we are still investing in it. Hopefully the more unique businesses there are like ours, the more it will drive new customers into the area, which in turn will then encourage new businesses.”
Ten Green Bottles is located on Merrial Street, Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Find Ten Green Bottles online at tengreenbottles.co
Opening times:
Wednesday and Thursday 4pm until 10pm
Friday 4pm until 11pm
Saturday 2pm until 11pm
