Kingswear Village Stores
Spotlight - Chris and Ella Gadd
Rather than asking what is sold in the Kingswear Village Stores, it is easier to ask what they don’t stock.
This popular village shop is packed with everything you could need and all of it beautifully arranged, neat and tidy, and so clean.
Behind the counter, Chris and Ella Gadd offer a warm welcome and plenty of happy banter with their customers, both village regulars and visitors. The couple have run the shop for nearly seven years.
Former long distance lorry driver Chris said: “We both hail from Somerset and we used to come here regularly for holidays. We loved Kingswear from the moment we visited, and decided to buy a holiday home here.
“Two years later the shop came up for sale and our friends said we’d be perfect for it, so we bought it. It’s hard work but we love it…most of the time!”
Ella is an accomplished musician and is a Bachelor of Music, specialising in piano and cello. She spent seven years at Wells Cathedral School and four years at the Royal Holloway University. Her love of music has spread through Kingswear since she founded Ell’s Angels, her hugely successful village choir. All its members live locally and its popularity has taken the community by storm. They perform by request and their repertoire ranges from Amazing Grace to California Dreaming. Catch them in the Colleton Fishacre gardens on August 1st!
Chris and Ella’s shop is everything a village stores should be. Outside, baskets of fruit and vegetables, most locally sourced along with much of the fresh stock in the shop, make an attractive display. Inside the stores have everything from tins and frozen food to an off licence, fresh baked bread and cakes, sweets, newspapers and magazines, all sorts of food from fresh meat to boxed cereals, household goods such as washing powder and cleaning products, dairy goods and all sorts of emergency essentials ranging from tights and combs to matches, nappies and potato peelers.
Chris and Ella also deliver boxes of groceries, a service popular with holiday makers staying at properties in the village. To arrange a delivery for your arrival day or during your stay, give them a call on 01803 752291. Payment is by cash or cheque on delivery and all orders must be placed 48 hours in advance. Deliveries are available from Monday to Saturday, 7am – 6pm.
First published July 2010 By the Dart