Couple look to turn Hurley Village Shop into 'destination for the whole region'

A couple have opened a new café at the Hurley Village Shop.

Vanessa Jones and her husband Ian, of Frogmill, took over the premises, which has served the village for more than 70 years, last month.

The pair have renovated the venue in High Street using mainly upcycled and sustainable materials to make the venture as sustainable as possible.

Mrs Jones, who emigrated to Australia before moving back to the UK, said: “I heard that the lady who had been running it was retiring so, being the personality that I am, I wanted to completely change it and I approached them about taking on the lease.

“I had a very clear vision of what I wanted it to be like and we’re getting there.

“I would have liked to move in January and so it has been quite a lot of pressure to get it up and running and make use of the season.

“I see this more as a destination for the whole region, rather than just a village shop.

“It’s a coffee shop for people who want to go out somewhere and have a nice cup of coffee and we’re letting people from Henley, Marlow and further afield know that we’re here.

“We’re open until 6pm every day and I really want to hang on to that.

“Previously, the shop would shut at noon in the winter but we’re keeping it open for longer so we can increase trade.

“The idea is that eventually it will be a self-sustaining place, not just a venue for the summer.”

The shop will sell seasonal, homegrown produce, including from the couple’s allotment and back garden, which will range from rhubarb and blackberries to potatoes, tomatoes, gherkins, cabbages, peas, spinach, raspberries, gooseberries and herbs.

Mrs Jones said: “I’m not in competition with the supermarket. What I need is to have products which are local and good quality and that does take effort.

“I’m a foodie myself and I want to make sure that the quality is there.

”In the winter, I am getting some help so people can pre-order online and be able to pick their produce up at the end of the day.

“Also, for people with boats coming down, they can just ring me to tell me what they want and I’ll wander down so they will be equipped with everything.”

Mr Jones, who works as a sustainability manager, said: “We’ve talked about it for years and this village needed a decent café and when the opportunity came up and we found out about it, we jumped at it, rather than somebody else just take over the shop.

“The best thing to do was to take it over ourselves and make changes that we believe will be beneficial for the community.

“Vanessa really drove this to turn it into a community hub. It gives residents a space that they really need if they’re looking for areas outside of their homes or their local pub.

“It’s a third space where people can congregate and mix and catch up with friends and neighbours and help one another.”

The shop’s renovations included primarily upcycled goods which had been donated out of goodwill or were no longer wanted.

They were keen to make use of second-hand materials, while selling seasonal homegrown produce from their allotment and garden.

Mr Jones said: “Because of my sustainability and waste background, we try really hard to repurpose.

“I found an old kitchen cabinet that someone wanted to be taken away to the dump which we used and old pieces of marble and granite that people no longer wanted and used that as part of the café area.

“The ‘snug’ area that we created were loungers that people just wanted to get rid of.

“We stripped out the really old style, dated shelving and cleaned the palette.”

Produce sold from the village shop includes homemade cakes, often made with seasonal produce, cheese scones, bread, charcuterie goods, fish and fresh meats.

They are stocking a third more items than were previously available.

The rear service lane, which was used for bin storage, has been cleaned and restored with three tables and an umbrella for people to dine outside.

Mr Jones said: “It has gone from supermarket-style shelving and freezers to a mixture of a café-style social set up. We had to cater for four socioeconomic groups within the community so they have all different needs that we are catering to. We source as much as we can from the community and local area.”