Three shops, one shopfront: the Bridge Street experiment
A florist, a picture framer and a repair café have split the rent on one of the town’s biggest empty units. Six months in, all three are still trading.
Tom Ridley
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5 min read
Number 22 Bridge Street, now home to a florist, a picture framer and a repair café.
Number 22 Bridge Street was empty for three years. The rent was too high for any one small business, and the landlord wouldn’t split the lease. Then three of them asked together.
Now a florist, a picture framer and a weekend repair café share the space, the bills and a single till. They take turns opening up, and each one covers the counter for the others at lunch.
‘Customers come in for flowers and leave with a frame,’ says florist Anna Price. ‘It’s the best footfall any of us has ever had.’
About the writer
Tom Ridley
Deputy editor, business
Covers the high street, the council and anyone opening, closing or moving a shop. Grew up above his parents’ newsagent on Bridge Street.
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