A few days before their February 28th opening, I headed to St Nicholas Street to meet with Lucy Wishart: the brains behind the Plenty Grocery Store that has now sprung up at number 43. It’s an exciting concept: a locally owned and run grocery store that focuses on quality produce and provenance, with both fresh and storecupboard ingredients on offer.
From the shell of a building that I first visited to the fully stocked shop that I was greeted with today, there’s certainly been plenty of change. Here you’ll find a wide range of produce from organic to good quality non-organic: says Lucy, “We’re a proper grocery store, offering daily shopping at a good price.”
Almost every item in the Plenty Grocery Store is grouped by type: fruit and veg in baskets outside and on the large inside windowsill; bread and jam by the counter, shelves for Oriental essentials, pasta and its accompaniments, even toiletries and refillable Ecover laundry detergents. You’ll find a chiller cabinet filled with local milk and fresh green leafy veg- and apparently there’s cheese, meats and more to come.
Add to this list eggs, tea, coffee, honey, dried fruit, oils, sugar, rice cakes, cordials…the list goes on and provides shoppers with a huge amount of choice for regular, everyday shops.
There are a few local suppliers too – the likes of Shipton Mill flour, Little and Long coffee and GingerBeards Preserves (you should try their spicy tomato relish…), with Lucy’s wife Nancy telling me that they’re on the look out for more well-priced, good quality local produce.
Speaking of Nancy, she’s also the brains behind The Big O Donut Co, and her freshly made donuts are gracing the counter of the Plenty Grocery Store with a different variety available each day. On the day of my visit, it was giant jam-filled donuts with rose water that were on offer for £1.80 each, and being addicted to all things rose, it would have been rude not to buy one to try. The consistency was fantastic, the jam generous and the amount of rose water just right – she’s a talented lady.
Open from 9am to 6.30pm from Monday to Saturday, and with Sunday and evening opening hours on the horizon, the Plenty Grocery Store is not just another deli: it’s a genuine grocery store catering for those who are looking for somewhere friendly, independent and passionate from which to buy both everyday items and treats. The pricing is pretty reasonable too: Lucy doesn’t believe in charging ridiculous money, but wants regular customers who trust both the quality and the pricing of the products that she offers.
With more Plenty Grocery Stores planned across Bristol in the future, we think Lucy’s concept is fantastic – and urge those who spend time in the city centre to get involved!
What a fantastic place. I think more towns should have places like this. I would prefer to do my shop there than go to one of the large supermarkets.