Flourish Foodhall & Kitchen

With more than 20 years’ experience as a wholesale supplier to farm shops, Cotswold Fayre boss Paul Hargreaves has brought his vision of the B-Corp company's own farm shop to life.

The Flourish Foodhall & Kitchen opened for business on Glenavon Farm in Saltford, a village between Bristol and Bath last month with great success.

From humble beginnings in the cellar of Hargreaves’ home, Cotswold Fayre now represents 4,000 products from 400 brands and serves about 1,700 customers.

“Having supplied so many farm shops, at the back of my mind I’ve always fancied being one of our customers,” he says. “Over the years, you get to see the good, the bad and the ugly of retailing.”

One of our design elevations to illustrate how the space would look

The opportunity to open Flourish came through after the original plan to develop a shop as a farmers’ co-operative fell through. In 2020, they Paul Hargreaves and Paul Castle teamed up with Adam Stratton, owner of Glenavon Farm, and set to work transforming redundant dairy buildings into a unique and exciting place for the local people and passers-by to stop, shop, eat and enjoy.

We clad our serve over in corrugated metal sheets with a wood trim to the top for an industrial but polished look

Through the various challenges of the pandemic, CRS worked with Paul Castle, the experienced and valuable lynch pin of the project, to develop and solidify plans which brought the shared vision to life.

The spectacular site had building work in progress but faced a number of Covid-related set backs over the months which challenged the team, but meant the opening was a real achievement.

Unique storage abounds, ask us about our refill displays!

On 24 June this year, Flourish officially opened its doors to a 2,000 sq ft foodhall, which has an open kitchen seating 110 people and an outside terrace with a further 40 seats.

CRS worked with the Flourish team on the lay outand general feel of the space, which they had very clear ideas on. Flourish has a strong brand identity and ethos which is echoed throughout the decor by re-purposing, recycling and using sustainable materials.

The snaking curves of our serve over counter lead the customer around the shop from butchery to cheese to deli to bakery

The most striking feature is the 40ft curved clad Criocabin Enixe counter containing the butchery, cheesemonger and deli. Most of the produce sold on the counter is supplied locally, while all ambient goods and packaged chilled goods are from the Cotswold Fayre range.

CRS coordinated the supply and installation of the remote refrigeration system which incorporated a heat recovery system which utilises the heat created by the refrigeration systems to assist in heating the water which is then supplied to the foodhall’s hand washing and food preparation areas. This further reduces the enterprise’s environmental impact, while also offering a reduction on energy bills.

Our Multidecks clad using the pallets they came in!

“If we are supplying a farm shop, we advise them to buy what they can locally, and everything else from us if they can,” Hargreaves says. “Most places like this have far too many suppliers and having a simpler supply chain means you can keep stuff on shelves and reduce the number of people you need to run the business.”

The business is already making plans for helping the local community, including Chatty Tuesday coffee mornings for people who live on their own, supporting Veterans’ Days, and offering discounts for those with emergency services ID.

Our dry ager is beautifully highlighted by the back-lit Himalayan salt bricks

CRS coordinated the supply and install of the various storage coldrooms in the back of house area as well as a number of bespoke display coldrooms for dry aged meat and cheese.

Various multidecks are laden with locally sourced fruit and vegetables, clad to almost melt into the background. There is imaginative signage, and ambient displays which are made from locally reclaimed materials, further supporting the B-Corp's eco-conscious philosophy.

Sleek lines using our Enixe serve over

Flourish is also set to benefit the wider Cotswold Fayre business, with Hargreaves planning to bring customers to the store to see “the biggest and best showroom we’ve ever had”.

Flourish could also herald further retail expansion. Hargreaves believes the farm shop market is at an interesting point in its development, with many good shops being run by a generation who are looking to retire, and who don’t have children to pass the business onto.

“There’s probably quite a lot of farmers who want to keep the revenue on the building but don’t want to run it themselves,” he says. “So other opportunities may come up.”

Our Multidecks clad using the pallets they came in!

People are already praising and welcoming the venture, with a series of positive comments on its Facebook page during the first 24 hours of opening.

All dishes served in the restaurant are made with the freshest ingredients sourced as locally as possible, often hand-picked from the neighbouring food hall.

A unique colour scheme sets the bakery area apart from the rest of the shop

The food hall, which is almost entirely plastic-free, has created around 40 new jobs.

There are a number of electric car charging points for customers to use and food waste will be redistributed with the help of Too Good To Go, an app which connects customers to restaurants and stores that have unsold food surplus.

Further plans being nurtured include wildflower meadows, beehives, a kitchen garden and much more besides. Flourish is bursting with life and brimming with ideas to see the local community thrive into the future.