New artisan shop The Shires Larder to open in Grantham

A woman wants to support local food producers with a new artisan shop opening later this month.

Sarah Roberts is due to open The Shires Larder in Westgate, Grantham, selling artisan food and drink including meat, cheese, milk, bread, honey and much more.

“I see the opportunity to bring local produce that has been grown and produced in our local area and that is not widely available in Grantham,” said Sarah.

She added: “The whole idea is local, hence the name Shires Larder, based on the county we are in and counties around us all having ‘shire’ at the end of their names.

“I also want to try and help regenerate the town centre with this new hop, as people might pop into town for one thing, but we can try to encourage them to try new things.

“I do not have a history in this business, but I’m keen to get started and help to build a community of shoppers who are looking for a more personal shopping experience, and want to try some new foods and some old favourites.”

Sarah, who is hoping to be open in the next couple of weeks, is aiming to bring back the “greengrocer days” to Grantham.

She added: “We are now in the habit of shopping for everything at supermarkets and I think they sell us a lot of commercial things that we don’t need.

“But if you look at the basics you need, they were originally sold on market stalls, so it’s about going back to basics.

“A lot of elderly people, who I imagine will be my main customers, the supermarket is a big place to go and it could be intimidating to some people.

“This is sort of going back to the days of greengrocers.”

Looking to the future, Sarah may look to offer deliveries or products online.

However, the “whole ethos is to see people in the shop and build up a relationship with them”, added Sarah.