About the Shop

“…of all the fine things in Chadlington, the finest is the Village Store…”
Matthew Fort, The Guardian, June 2007

 

Chadlington Quality Foods Ltd is a fine food retailer in the West Oxfordshire village of Chadlington, specialising in home cooked products, delicatessen and cheese, and all manner of gastronomic delights. The business was saved from closure in 2001 by a group of local residents and has become a notable success story in the “local food” community and a case study for both the Plunkett Foundation (previously ViRSA) and the Oxfordshire Rural Community Council. We employ a small team of dedicated local staff, led by our Managers Nick Burgess and Emma Harvey, and our Chef Elizabeth Moses.

There have been a number of retail businesses in Chadlington throughout history. A Post Office,  Butchers, and Village Shop have been important to generations of village residents. With the growth of motorised transport, businesses in the village enjoy custom from all over Oxfordshire, The Cotswolds, and beyond. Visitors who come here for their holidays benefit from the range of services provided.

A number of different people have owned and operated the “village shop” over the years. Originally the Slatter Family ran the shop in the Old Forge and later moved it to the current premises next door to their Butcher’s Shop. John and Beryl Slatter continued to run the shop for many years. Helen Datson took over the shop from the Slatter Family and ran it for 9 years, building up the home cooking side of the business. People remember “Helen’s” as a great success within the village. Helen moved on and the shop fared less well through a number of short periods of different ownership. Despite significant marketing effort and improvements made by the previous owners, the shop was put up for sale on the open market in 1999. Due to the absence of any buyers, its closure seemed inevitable.

In November 2000, a group of local residents met and agreed that it would be untenable to lose the services of the village shop. A committee was formed that includes the present Directors, and an action plan was put in place to save the shop from closure. Volunteers came forward with a variety of necessary skills and momentum gathered as the project took shape, intent on preserving the future of the shop.

Chadlington Quality Foods Ltd was formed in 2001. Following a sale of shares to raise the necessary funds, the committee purchased the shop on behalf of the village. Since that time a great deal of hard work by the operating committee and shop staff has transformed the business into a very successful operation that continues to provide services and employment to local people from the Village and beyond.