Interview

Tom and Stephanie are co-hosts of the Food Glue Podcast. Our focus is on businesses that bring people and places together. Hear the full interview on Episode Three of the Food Glue Podcast available on all podcast players.

Why did you pick Beeston for Essen?

Sam - I grew up in Beeston and my parents still live in Beeston. [the community] just fit in with what we were trying to do. Until we were here, Beeston didn’t have a cheese shop or a delicatessen, there was no independent alcohol shop. We looked at many other areas in Nottingham, but Beeston just fit really nicely with what we wanted to do.

Sam and Ed, how did you meet?

Sam - we met at Delilah, in the city centre, which I used to run and Ed was the assistant manager.

Ed - Approximately 5 years ago

Sam - through mutual friends as well, friends who have gone on to do incredible things in other places around Nottingham (editors note: more on some of these friends in the next issue) and London. We met over a love of food really, and sitting at a bar somewhere having a couple of beers, our friendship came from there.

Tell us a little bit about the range in store?

Sam - So we’ve gone a little bit mad. We are using two very well trusted cheesemongers, The Fine Cheese Company and Mons down in Borough Market, London. The cheese comes over from France each week and they mature their own cheeses. Our focus is unpasteurised (raw milk) cheese from Britain and France, because that’s what we love, the nice thing is we’ve filled a shop with things we love eating and drinking!

Ed - If we don’t like it, it doesn’t come to the shop

How do you engage with the community?

Beeston

NG9 2LH

Opening Hours: Monday 11 am–7 pm

Tuesday 11 am–7 pm

Wednesday 11 am–7 pm

Thursday 11 am–7 pm

Friday 11 am–9 pm

Saturday 10 am–9 pm Sunday 11 am–4 pm www.essen-generalstore.co.uk

Sam - the thing we really wanted to do, was communal eating. So if you come into the shop, there is one big table down the centre where we encourage people to sit together, chat together. We’ve just taken on a book group, we have a few knitting groups, the solicitors upstairs come to unwind after work. There’s enough dogs and kids in our families and friends that we want them to come in, we want them to enjoy the space. Because it’s inclusive and people can bring their dog, people can just come in and get one thing whilst out on a dog walk or the school run.