The Nisa Local store in Toddington, owned by Kishor Patel and his family, has reached the finals of a national competition to find the best community store in the UK.
In their quest for the best, judges are looking for those who go above and beyond in their efforts to constantly adapt and improve their stores to best serve their local area.
The Toddington store is at the heart of the community it serves. For example, they pioneered ‘maths in store’ with a group of students from Parkfields Middle School to come up with a solution to make maths more fun and less intimidating.
They also host an annual Christmas party for around 100 elderly people in the village, providing everything from the food and waitress service to after-dinner entertainment.
That’s aside from offering free deliveries to the elderly and supporting the local Scout group and church.
Mr Patel said: “Our store manager, Gary Bilbrough, and his team know virtually all their customers by name and see themselves as the catalyst for knitting the community together.
“We’re thrilled to have reached the final stages of this competition.”
The awards will be held at a dazzling ceremony at The Grange in St Paul’s, London, on March 6.
Last year, Nisa Local Toddington was voted highly commended in the Retail Industry Awards and was named as a Top 100 Convenience Store by the Independent Achievers Academy.