Willows talk about opening a business during a pandemic

Willows Coffee House, located at the bottom of Church Street, opened officially on August 8.

Earlier this year owner Mary Stevens was made redundant and she decided to take a gamble on her dream of opening a coffee shop.

She used her redundancy money to open the café, which is inspired by her late father, who used to be the Mayor of Basingstoke from 1988 to 1989.

We revisited Willows to see what it was like to run a new business during a pandemic.

A positive Mary said: “It has been scary opening during Covid but I think the Covid restrictions have actually helped us as a business.”

New government advice urging people to work from home has come as a blow for some businesses who rely on commuters and office workers, but for Willows they have seen it as a positive.

“There are a huge amount of people in Basingstoke working from home and because of this in the morning, for the first hour, all of our regulars come for their morning coffee.”

“If we had opened and starting trading in normal times we would have been hit by Covid but having opened as lockdown eased it meant people were looking for something to do and they wanted more than ever to go out and have a coffee.

“I think people in the community have found a bit of escapism here."

The five star reviews on Facebook certainly show that customers are enjoying the new coffee house.

One customer wrote: "Popped in here for the 1st time today. Amazing customer service. Gorgeous coffee & croissant. Just lovely. You have to try this cute, independent, welcoming little coffee shop. Will definitely be revisiting again!"

Mary said whilst opening the café has been ‘stressful’  she ‘doesn’t regret it’ at all: “It was one of those things where you can think about something and procrastinate about it for your whole life and always think what if.

“You can always make any excuse but in my opinion, if it is going to work during Covid then it is going work any time, it can only just get better for us.”

Mary has big plans for her café which is quickly becoming a community hub for all.

She hopes to receive permission for outside seating and is currently searching for volunteers to help paint the quirky downstairs area in return for free coffee.

“We have big ideas for when we open downstairs such as cushion making classes, cake decorating classes and a games night for the young lads who don’t like to drink beer but like coffee.”

Customers should also keep their eye out for Halloween and Christmas themed display windows.

A thankful Mary added: “We hear all the time that people want to support local businesses more because of Covid.

“Everything in this shop is a local and that is our unique selling point, we love Basingstoke.”