Tea and gift shop owner gambles on new premises in lockdown

Tilly's Tearoom and gift shop, Metheringham. Owner Amelia Bailey. EMN-201127-175716001

Amelia Bailey, who originally opened Tilly’s Tea and Gift Shop on Caroline Road in Metheringham two years ago, says she has spent thousands of pounds and taken “a leap of faith” to relocate to a more central position in the former parish council offices on the High Street in the village.

Amelia said: “There is hope for small businesses in lockdown.

“We outgrew our shop so we were thrilled to find a much larger shop which became available in March - just as lockdown first hit, but after a nail biting few months we took the plunge to move.”

Tilly's Tearoom and gift shop, Metheringham. L-R Resident artist Lizzy Mason and owner Amelia Bailey. EMN-201127-175705001

Following a £30,000 make over the premises have been transformed into a modern bright stunning tearoom and gift shop, complete with wool shop (to compensate for the loss of another local shop), old fashioned sweets section, greeting card and stationery department and even a mini gallery with local ‘artist in residence’ Lizzy Mason whose works include a Lincoln Imp, a Baron and a Knight for the trails around Lincoln.

Taking on an extra member of staff and extending working hours of the rest of the team, Amelia said: “We opened on Monday November 16, during lockdown so have had to temporarily change from tea shop to takeaway to abide by the lockdown restrictions, however as we are a mixed retailer we are also able to welcome customers to purchase gifts.”

Amelia says she has had amazing business advice from her landlords, North Kesteven District Council. “We could not have done it without them,” she said.

NKDC assisted in her successfully applying for LEADER funding for equipment from the Rural Development Programme for England.

“We closed for two months with no income while we did the work and that was really scary, but people have been coming in just to buy cake to support us.”

The shop has become a social lifeline for the community, with many social groups meeting there and some customers have lost loved ones over recent months.

“People don’t have to worry about going into Lincoln among the masses to do their Christmas shopping,” Amelia said.