Berwick bucks the national recession trend
Mar 27 2009 by David Old, The Journal
The florist's
Julie Reavley, 49, opened The Flower Room last December and is enjoying a bumper start to business.
And she believes the crunch is leading to more people shopping locally.
She said: "People aren’t travelling as much so tend to stay in Berwick to go shopping, I think they prefer the quality of flowers we have and the customer service. There are also a lot of holiday cottages booked up, so it seems people are staying in the country rather than going abroad.
"We’re trying to buy British flowers wherever possible and also promoting local businesses. We have paintings for sale by local artists and cards made by local people. We try to help each other out as much as possible.
"It was a bit daunting starting out, but we had a few weddings booked and have been busy since we started. There’s always an occasion for flowers."
The restaurant
PETER Woolrich opened a French-themed Cafe Curio restaurant in October, and takings have risen every week.
He said: "We’ve just had our busiest weekend and takings are going up all the time.
"The demand for reservations has doubled since we opened and we’ve had to start taking bookings for Friday and Saturdays.
"We were nervous when we first opened as we had missed the tourist season and the recession was hitting home.
"But Berwick appears to be untouched. I think the market conditions has pushed us into really concentrating on customer service.
"Berwick is supposed to have the lowest average wage in the country and has been through a lot of hard times.
"I think residents have seen it all before and the recession almost bounces off them. Everywhere seems to be doom and gloom but it’s buzzing in Berwick."
The unusual cafe, in Bridge Street, also sells everything on show in the restaurant – from pepper pots to the antique chairs and tables.
The dress shop
DESIGNER Tracey Johnson, 32, is also enjoying a boom in business. The Bella B dress shop she runs with her mum, Joyce Patterson, is flooded with orders from all over the globe.
Tracey said: "We’ve got customers from Manchester and London, and even brides in Paris and Belgium. It’s amazing.
"Turnover is up three fold and there is no sign of things slowing down.
"We’re getting more and more people coming from cities and they say they can’t believe how cheap our prices are.
"All our trade is word-of-mouth, all the shops recommend each other.
"I’ve seen no sign of trade slowing down whatsoever. We’re getting in lots of new stock and are even taking on more staff."
