‘Mind-blowing’ - Mr Swainstons owner reacts to the first week in their new South Shields location
The co-owner of Mr Swainstons has given an insight into a successful first week in their new shop.
Mr Swainstons, the popular South Shields sweet shop, celebrated the grand opening of its new location on Fowler Street last Friday (April 3).
Having closed its Westoe Road location on March 1, owners John Gray and Sean Robinson decided to made the move in order to allow the business to grow even further.
The pair honoured the legacy of Swainstons by inviting Barry and Nan, who lovingly ran the original business for many years, along on Good Friday to cut the ribbon and even help serve customers at the new shop.
‘Mind-blowing’
Across the Easter weekend, crowds queued for up to an hour to get a glimpse of the new shop, with John telling the Shields Gazette that it has been busier than either himself or Sean expected.
He said: “It has been absolutely crazy, probably busier than what we ever imagined.
“On the day that we opened up and saw the queues of people, it just blew us away and everyday since then, we’ve been expecting it to be a little bit quieter but it hasn’t let up.
“We’ve had people travel from so far to come and see us - it is literally mind-blowing.”
Nostalgic
Ahead of the opening the new shop, John and Sean revealed that they wanted to create a venue that would bring nostalgia to many in South Shields.
Now a week in, John has given an insight into what the feedback has been like from those who have been along during the first week in the shop’s new location.
He added: “Loads of people have been congratulating us on what we’ve done and they’ve been blown away with how it looks both on the inside and outside.
“We’ve also had loads of comments about how the shop looks when it is all lit up on a night time.
“That nostalgic element that we wanted to bring with the shop seems to be landing really well.”
You can keep up to date with everything happening at Mr Swainstons by visiting: https://www.facebook.com/mrswainstons.