Day one of the second lockdown: We asked some of Rugby's independent businesses how they're doing

Today, November 5, is the first day of the new lockdown, forcing many businesses in the town centre to shut or offer delivery and collect services only.

The Advertiser walked through the town centre to see how independent businesses are coping - and we found a wide range of opinions.

One thing was very clear, and that is just how much our town's businesses need your support to stay open.

The Stottie Shop

The first stop was the Stottie Shop on Regent Street, where Debbie Langley said the morning's business had been brisk thanks to her loyal customers.

"I'm surprised how busy we've been," she said.

"We've had the same customers for years and they're being very loyal.

"I've been asking them for their support and they've been great.

"Please keep supporting us, as long as we have our great customers we'll be able to keep our doors open."

Debbie praised Rugby Borough Council for the support it has been offering businesses through the pandemic.

Wild and Free

Ceri Line at Wild and Free on Bank Street said the last few weeks have been 'bonkers'.

"We were open all through the last lockdown and through March, April and May we were working 12 or 13 hour days.

"And this week it went bonkers again - and we're going to be staying open again this time.

"Last lockdown we had people coming in because the supermarkets had run out of flour and yeast.

"They were trying to buy five or six bags of flour and I'd say to them, 'how big is your household?' - one answered 'two people'.

"We had to start rationing things."

The shop is well-known in the town for selling organic, vegan and dairy-free produce.

Ceri and Charles Lane took over the store last year and they have rearranged the store in a way that makes it perhaps one of the only shops in the country to be designed around covid restrictions.

"We didn't want to put perspex screens up," Ceri said.

"We went back to an old school design - we keep all the items behind the counter and we pick out items for customers. We've even got ladders.

"There's no need for perspex screens because the space and the counter provide the distance."

Ceri said business today has been quieter than usual.

"But that's how it should be," she added.

Charles then explains the shop's delivery service, whereby customers can order a range of items, including organic vegetable boxes.

Customers wishing to register for the delivery service can visit www.wildandfree.net and register to receive more information.

And, because of the layout of the store, customers are able to walk in and pick out their items.

"It's been a very challenging first year," Charles said, before joking that in the run up to the first lockdown he began wielding a two-metre distance stick to remind customers to keep their distance.

Rugby Unwrapped

Rugby Unwrapped on Church Street, like many businesses in the town, has been feeling the strain of the covid crisis.

"It's been absolutely horrendous," owners Clair Saxton and Sharon Lee said.

"We were just starting to carve out a niche in the town, we were getting really popular, and then covid struck.

"We've lost around 80 per cent of our custom.

"We can't praise Rugby council and Rugby First enough for all the support they've given us.

"No-one is to blame, this is no-one's fault, but this is happening to businesses across the board and it just doesn't feel fair."

Clair and Sharon stayed open through the last lockdown and plan to do their best to remain open through this one.

The financial support offered, which is dictated by the government, has barely been enough to keep the shop going, they said.

"We can't furlough ourselves and, because we're classed as an essential shop, we will get no help if we try to close."

They have worked hard to expand their range of products and to offer click and collect and home deliveries.

"We've been delivering as far as Southam and Daventry," they said.

"Sometimes we're actually making a loss on these deliveries, but we're trying to help our loyal customers.

"With the lockdown, people are now thinking, 'I'll just go to the supermarket and get everything at once', and we don't blame them for thinking like that.

"When we opened last year, knowing Rugby, we wanted to find a way to make zero-packaging products affordable for everyone.

"This system works very well if you're, say, a pensioner who only gets through a little of something every month, or if you're on a budget and you need a small amount of rice crispies to make snacks for the kids."

Clair and Sharon said they greatly value the ongoing support of their customers, and wish to thank them for their loyalty.

"We have one customer who was really struggling with anxiety and they couldn't go to supermarkets - they were able to come in here and feel comfortable.

"That's part of our uniqueness - the face-to-face, or mask-to-face service.

"The way things are going - if we lose that and end up online we will lose our identity, and when businesses can't offer that personal service, Rugby starts to lose its identity.

"By supporting us you're also supporting a lot of local suppliers, Spicy Joes is in Rugby, Springfield Kitchen supplies us with jam and they're in Bilton, our toilet rolls come from a supplier in Leicestershire and our refillable cleaners come from a supplier in Northamptonshire."

Clair and Sharon are also working alongside Rugby Foodbank, and they are hoping to unveil a 'pay-it-on' system shortly, whereby customers can by products for them to be donated to the foodbank.

Because of the size of the shop, customers are not able to come in to browse, but they can pick out items at the door and have them dispensed into containers.

Customers can learn more about the delivery and click and collect services by visiting www.rugbyunwrapped.co.ukAdee's Spud Van

Adee's Spud Van by the clocktower will be a familiar site to Rugbeians of all ages.

"We've been here for 15 years," said Denise Gough-Wesson, who owns the van with her husband Ade - hence the name of the business.

"It's so nice when you get families with children coming up and saying, 'I remember getting food here when I was a child'.

"It does make me feel a bit old - but it really is nice," Denise joked.

Despite being a fixture in the town centre, alongside her brother's business next door, Mr G's, Denise said business at the spud van has been down about 70 or 80 percent since the pandemic began.

"A lot of our business is passing trade," she said.

"We rely a lot on the people working in the town - Cemex, GE and those sorts of businesses.

"Things were starting to pick up but since this new lockdown its gone down again."

As we spoke, a customer arrived at the van and ordered a huge jacket potato with extra cheese.

"I just wanted to come out to support you, we've all got to support our local businesses through this," she said.

Denise explained that this morning, facing a huge loss in customers, she put out a call for help on any Rugby Facebook page she could find.

"We're going to go through the next week and play things by ear from then on," she said.

"We travel from Birmingham every day and the worry is we won't even cover the costs from that. It really is a case of 'use it or lose it'."