As we seek some positivity during the dark times that Covid-19 has sheathed over us, let us explore how business owners are getting innovative to ensure they can open their doors back up in the future.
Bradley Rise, 33, has found an eco-friendly way to quenching the city’s thirst through lockdown 3.0 by delivering his businesses’ stock – on a bike.
The JamCafé owner explained how his incentive was a case of ‘keeping his business afloat’, as the third lockdown has left his cafe-bar sat silent for over half of the past year.
The innovative owner started to deliver their renowned craft beers to loyal customers on his bike, before a welcomed donation from RideWise UK of an electric bike, widened his reach and tripled his capacity.
“The first few days knackered my knee, but if we used a car the petrol and money for staff would all add up”, he said.
JamCafé, on Heathcoat Street, Nottingham, has been closed since the county first entered Tier 3 restrictions in November.
Despite selling alcohol onsite until January, the new lockdown rules meant the company had to think of an alternative way to get rid of its Christmas stock as Nottingham City Council highlighted they were unable to sell alcohol as an Off-License.
Bradley chose the physically challenging task of delivering by bicycle because of the costs of funding alternative delivery services, as well as the staffing.
He travels within a two-to-three mile radius of Nottingham, but if there’s demand in another area, he will make sure to do multiple drops on his route.
Bradley has travelled as far as Radcliffe-on-Trent on his fully-loaded bike, including drop-offs at Lady Bay and West Bridgeford on his journey back into the city.
Over the weekends, Bradley achieves around 20-30 drops as local people wash their week away with the craft beers, wine and whiskey on offer.
When asked about the stock on offer, Bradley said: “We started using leftover stock from Christmas, I’d organised the beer into little bundles so people could experience a variety of breweries.”
He adds that he wouldn’t have been able to continue the sales on his own though, as he highlights the impact the community has had to help his initiative happen.
“I have to give a shoutout to the people who lent me stuff. Arkwright Community Gardens gave me a kickstart with a Deliveroo bag donation and RideWise UK for lending me that all important electric bike”, He said.
The café-bar pulls in craft beers from all over Europe such as Hungary and Croatia, as Bradley explained he likes to give people access to beer they can’t get hold of locally.
Whether you’re in Sherwood, Wollerton, West Bridgeford or Beeston, Bradley will ensure you get your weekend off to a good start.
Checkout out where Bradley is heading, what JamCafe have on offer and send your request for delivery to their facebook page here.
By Lauren Brown
