Margate: Kate and George Winteringham open traditional greengrocers K G Winters in Northdown Road
Published: 00:01, 12 December 2018
With more and more shoppers turning to buying online it has not gone unnoticed that many high street stores having been closing their doors in recent years.
But one couple have decided to buck the trend and even go back in time by opening a traditional greengrocers in Margate after living in the seaside town for several years.
Kate and George Winteringham have been busy settling into their new shop in Northdown Road, aptly named K G Winters.
And it's a real taste of the past, with milk in returnable glass bottles and seasonal vegetable deliveries on offer.
Selling locally grown produce, the couple say their aim is to connect the town and wider area with quality goods and prices that are accessible to all.
"We wanted to reintroduce the traditional general store idea back to high street," Kate said.
"Because we deal directly with local farms, we can help customers to reduce their household plastics by selling all of our fresh food out of plastic wrapping- as it used to be in the old days.
"We have also tried to combat food wastage by having all our of vegetables loose so customers can choose how much they need and revert back to a way of shopping that didn’t involve buying lots of food you can’t use and thus end up throwing away.
"We hope by inspiring customers with ideas on what they can do with the veg grown locally, this will encourage more seasonal eating that will not only help keep the costs down for them but also reduce the impact on the environment too."
But it's not just customers' vegetable needs the pair can solve.
Kate, 34, added. "We also sell a wide range of local meat products, milk in returnable glass bottles, freshly baked breads and patisseries, snacks, drinks and store cupboard provisions and homewares.
"We offer £10 weekly veg bag deliveries to the Thanet area which include a seasonal veg selection with recipe suggestions, customers can also add on their milk deliveries in our glass milk bottles, bread, eggs and juices too.
"We are now taking Christmas orders for free range Kentish turkeys, for delivery on December 22, as well as Christmas veg bags for £10 for all your Christmas veg you’ll need."
Kate and 35-year-old George have high hopes for the new year too.
"We hope to start cookery classes at the back of our store," Kate added. "We want to get people inspired on different ways to cook veg, fermentation and pickling, cooking with kids and lots more hopefully to get the community excited about cooking."
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Katie Davis