A HUNDRED cupcakes were given out as a treat for customers as a village shop celebrated its 10th anniversary.

When Duloe’s village shop and Post Office closed in 2011, local people set up a committee and set about opening a store that would continue to cater for everyday grocery needs.

Launched using the £477 proceeds from a cake sale, the Duloe Community Shop started life in a small room on the side of the village hall, and customers were served over a stable door.

Shortly after opening the committee obtained grants from the SITA landfill fund, and the then East Cornwall Local Action Group, which enabled them to build a shop on land to the side of the Jubilee Centre, and fit it out.

At the time of the official opening in August 2012, the shop stocked just over 200 products – it now has more than 3,000, says Jim Eames, who together with Debbie Taylor and Gill Todd make up the shop’s three paid employees.

Volunteers

Up until the start of the pandemic, there were also 12 volunteers taking turns on the rota, but with several over 70 and vulnerable, a group of six has manned the community shop since March 2020.

Debbie and Gill manage the shop on Jim’s rare days off, and operate the Post Office.

“Since the first lockdown our takings almost doubled, and we have happily met the challenge to feed the village and surrounding area, and helped to keep them safe,” says Jim. “The shop became a hub of the village to find help if anyone needed it, and organised home deliveries for those shielding.”

Jim adds that he would like to thank Trewithen Dairy, Continental Fruits and Chris Rounsevell Butchers, who have supported the Community Shop throughout the 10 years.

Local people had words of praise for the staff and volunteers, who one resident said had “made such a difference in Duloe”.

Another person said: “Happy birthday to the shop. Such an amazing success and much of that due to the hard work of Jim, Sue and all the team. I have been in several other community shops over the years and I think ours is up there with the very best of them.”