A community-owned Yorkshire Dales pub has expanded its role by opening a new café and honesty shop to provide essential services for residents living in one of the county’s most remote areas.
The Foresters Arms in Carlton-in-Coverdale has launched the new facilities to improve access to everyday essentials and create more opportunities for people to meet and socialise.
The Grade II listed 17th century pub is owned by members of the local community and has operated as a community co-operative for the past 15 years.
The new village shop, named Auntie Betty’s in tribute to the former village post office and store, stocks around 400 everyday items, including milk, bread, ready meals and toiletries.
The honesty shop can be accessed independently from the pub, with customers able to pay at the bar or café during opening hours or by using a QR code payment system when the pub is closed.
As well as providing convenient access to groceries, the shop supports local suppliers including Dales Dairy in Grassington and Two Dales Bakery in Reeth.
Alongside the shop, the pub has opened a 26-seat community café serving breakfasts, hot and cold drinks, cakes and homemade scones.
Managers say it is already proving popular with residents, walkers and cyclists, while offering an important social space for people living in the area, where there is no public transport and the nearest shops and cafés are several miles away.
The project has been supported by Pub is The Hub through funding from the Department for Business and Trade’s Hospitality Support Fund, which aims to help rural pubs diversify and remain sustainable community assets.
Café and store manager Linda Heseltine said the new facilities had already made a difference to local people.
“The new café and store have already really enhanced the quality of life for many local people,” she said.
“Locals now don’t have to drive for miles to stock up on essentials, with the shop set to be even more invaluable during the winter, when driving conditions deteriorate. The community café is proving a thriving social hub for a wide range of people including elderly people living on their own and young families.”
Future plans include introducing a Chatty Café table, book club sessions and allowing local growers to sell surplus produce through the shop using the QR code payment system.
Nigel Williams, regional adviser for Pub is The Hub, described The Foresters Arms as “a fantastic example of a pub at the heart of its community”, saying the new services were helping strengthen social connections while supporting other local businesses.
