Robin’s Fruit and Veg stall in Grantham started out in Blue Bull car park

A fruit and veg seller on the market started out by selling potatoes in a pub car park.

Robin Burrows, 69, has been selling fresh fruit and vegetables on Grantham Market for around 30 years.

His stall, Robin’s Fruit and Veg, is being showcased as part of a Journal campaign to support the market.

Originally a farmer from Ingoldsby, Robin got into trading after growing his own potatoes and trying to sell them.

“We grew some potatoes and couldn’t sell them,” said Robin. “So we sold them in a pub car park and it’s just gone from there.”

The pub in question was the Blue Bull in Wesgate.

Robin followed this up by finding a slot on Grantham Market and the stall has “grown massively” in the 30 years since then.

Robin does Stamford Market on a Friday, where he is helped by wife Diana, and Grantham on a Saturday, when he is helped by Michael Storey.

The stall’s fresh produce is from the wholesale market in Nottingham, which Robin goes to two mornings a week.

When asked what his favourite part about running the stall was, he said: “Meeting people.”

With winter now well behind us, Robin is able to sell soft fruit, including peaches, nectarines, strawberries, raspberries and pomegranates.

Robin was asked, as a stallholder of 30 years, what he thought of the current state of Grantham Market was.

He responded: “It’s okay. Stamford’s very good and Grantham, although it’s not a very big market, it’s still very good for us.”

In terms of improvements for Grantham Market, Robin said: “They need a manager on the situation now. They’ve got no one managing the market.”

You can find Robin every Saturday at Grantham Market.