Shopping in Audlem continues to thrive with the opening of two new shops in the village.
Ladies fashion and gift shop Mandi Boo in Shropshire Street is celebrating its first month of trading, with owner Mandy Nickson having received a warm welcome from villagers and traders.
Hoc’s Fat Pigeon in Cheshire Street was opened in March by Ian Haughey who left his banking job after 10 years to run the shop selling organic and Fairtrade products.
Ian, 50, who has lived in Audlem with his wife Liz for almost 17 years, said: “We went to a party where we were talking about setting a business up.
“We were thinking of different names when a friend of ours said ‘do you want to call it Fat Pigeon?’ because we saw one through the window sat on a tree.
“We couldn’t get the name out of our minds and when we were coming up to opening the shop, we decided to go with it.
“Hoc’s is a bit of a nickname that goes back a long time and the whole thing is just a different way of doing things.
“The response from the village has been very good and we’ve got good suppliers who help us keep the costs down.
“We like to know what the quality of the food is and we want to show people that you don’t have to pay a whole lot more for organic or natural foods.”
Mandy, a former airline stewardess, moved to a village just outside Audlem with her husband 18 months ago and opened Mandi Boo after looking for retail premises around Cheshire.
She said: “I’ve always wanted my own business but it was only when I moved to the Audlem area that I realised there was an opportunity here.
“The local people have been wonderfully supportive and they’ve made me feel very welcome which was important for me.
“My main business is clothes for mums and daughters because that’s how I used to shop and a mum can come in with her teenage daughter and both get an outfit from the mixture of brands that we have.
“If people don’t want to buy clothes, they can buy gifts or cards but still have that experience of coming into a boutique.
“Audlem is a fantastic village and from what I’ve experienced over the last four weeks, it has a lot to offer.”
By Winston Brown