Sweet shop owner thanks community for support through first year
Fay Dewing, owner of Sew Sweet in Fakenham. - Credit: Copyright: Archant 2020
The owner of a sweet shop has thanked her community for their support throughout her first year of trading.
Fay Dewing owns Sew Sweets on Fakenham's Market Place after she took over last February. The first time business owner has faced one of the most daunting periods for shops during the coronavirus pandemic.
Despite the difficulty, and only able to trade for six months out of the first 12, Mrs Dewing expressed her thanks to the people of Fakenham.
Fay Dewing took over the Fakenham sweet shop in February 2020. - Credit: Copyright: Archant 2020
“The comments and messages have been really good, and it makes it worth struggling through the tough times for,” she said.
“We had nice comments online, people popping in and saying they would rather shop local and picking something up, and others saying how lovely it is to see you.”
The 55-year-old was involved with the shop in 2019, helping out the previous owner Lisa Mallet when the shop was known as Sweets n Things.
Old-fashioned style jars of sweet favourites at Sew Sweet in Fakenham. Picture: DENISE BRADLEY - Credit: Copyright: Archant 2020
She also runs a click and collect dry cleaner service, as well as making school uniforms modifications on-site.
The owner said over the summer as parents were preparing to send their children back to school she was working 90 hours a week to add logos for all of Fakenham’s pupils.
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Despite the knock to her momentum, such as only opening for seven weeks before the first national lockdown, and events being cancelled, Mrs Dewing is just glad to still have a shop.
Owner of Sew Sweets, Fay Dewing, thanked the people of Fakenham for their support. - Credit: Archant
“I’m still happy I have the shop, there is nothing you can do to ever plan for what happened,” she said.
“If we can get through this we can get through anything and if we can survive this there is not too much to worry about.
“We were getting busier and busier every week and we knew what we were doing was working.”
The shop also lost the info-hub back in November, but Mrs Dewing said there will be a notice board at the shop with vital information, as well as space for local businesses to leave their cards.
For the next year, she just hopes they can open for six days a week and she can make plans that can actually go ahead.
Inside Sew Sweets just after Fay took it over in February 2020. - Credit: Archant
