A tea shop in the region has been explaining how they’ve been giving something back to their customers after a challenging period during the coronaviurs crisis.

Blueberrys Tea Shop in Alston has had to adapt almost everything following the first lockdown the region faced in March 2020, however they have continued to remain a popular location for locals after over a year of uncertainty.

“It’s myself and my son (Ted),” said Irene Robson who runs the business.

“We live here, so it’s not just a shop - it’s our home. 

“It’s been very hard. When we took over in July 2019 it wasn’t the greatest time to take over halfway through the summer and then we went into the autumn we had some road closures. 

“We bought brand new crockery, cups, teapots - everything - all ready for a prosperous year and then of course in March that was it.”

With the coronaviurs pandemic hitting the region, Irene went on to explain how the business tried to change what they did to ensure they remained being there for their loyal customers.

“We soon realised we couldn’t open as just a takeaway as the shop wasn’t geared up for that and the overheads were just too great,” she explained.

“So we diversified and initially we tried selling a few bits of groceries and sandwiches but there just wasn’t enough foot fall to sustain it.

“We thought we would change tack to keep it open for Alston if nothing else.
We just through we need to minimise the overheads and this is what we’ve done.  All the food that we sell has been made by ourselves.

“The only thing that we buy in is the bread rolls. Everything else is prepared fresh and made every morning.  The sandwiches, the pies, the cakes, scones, flapjacks, they’re all made in a morning. Pretty much when it’s gone it’s gone!

“That way the waste is kept to a minimum. We went down the route of bio-degradable, combustible containers so everything is served in takeaway style plates so there’s no risk of cross contamination. It just helps with the whole Covid thing.

With the tearoom having again re-opened to customers earlier this year, Irene went on to add how they are hoping to give something back to the local community. 

“We try to make it affordable," added Irene.

We have never cut the cost on the quality of the food we produced but because we haven't got the crockery to wash up and have not got as many overheads now we can pass that saving on. 

"I want to pass on the savings onto people as people have had it tough.

"It's not just us who has suffered."