From next week Beerfly will be operated by a new company, Hatch Ventures Ltd. A group of local individuals: Will, Caroline, Joe, Jack and Hannah all of whom have a passion for indie businesses.
Separate from this venture they already oversee other local businesses in Bedford including No.7 Coffee House owned by Hannah and Fetch Club Shop, owned by Will and Caroline.
The new team at Beerfly will be led by Will and Caroline, who have been coming to Beerfly as customers for years and intend to maintain the shop's current atmosphere and operations.
Beerfly’s future now looks bright and secure in light of this change. Will, Caroline and the team will be stocking the same range of great beers on tap and in the fridge as you’re used to and offering the great service and insight that you’ve hopefully become accustomed to. Events and the range of Boyd’s clothing will remain as they are and I’m sure they’ll add more to the diary as time goes on.
From me, Tim, I’m genuinely grateful to all of you who have been coming into the shop for the last six years. I’m thankful for the support and custom we have received and I’m really very proud of what we’ve done to help improve beer in Bedford, even though with the recent closure of Brewhouse and the closure of Foxy Wings it does feel as though we’ve taken one step forward and two steps back sometimes. Hopefully there will be more venues in and around the town serving great beer from an array of independent breweries in the future. I would encourage anyone who has untied taps to find out what is available and give customers a choice, not just more of the same old beers.
I’m also proud that Beerfly has contributed to the thriving independent retail scene in Bedford. Far too often our town gets talked down, but I really believe that Bedford is much better than it’s given credit for. There are so many fantastic places and people in the town and St. Cuthbert’s Street feels like it’s at the heart of that. I hope that it can go from strength to strength, and that I can continue to play my part in that.
Sunday 26th May will be our St. Cuthbert’s Street Festival and it feels like a fitting way to end my time at Beerfly. I’d love to see as many friendly faces as possible, although I’ll also be around during the first couple of weeks of June to help make sure the transfer is as smooth as possible.
I’ll not be a stranger to Beerfly – from a purely selfish perspective, retaining the shop’s essence was always very important to me. Hopefully we’ll have a chance to grab a beer together in the future. In the meantime, I wish Will, Caroline and the new team all the very best!
FAQ
When?
Our last trading day as Chapters Retail Ltd (the previous company) will be this Sunday 26th May – luckily there’s a MASSIVE party planned so that should be extra fun!
What will be different?
Very little. Essentially the business was created, set up and run by Tim Edwards under the Chapters Retail Ltd company. The only thing that is changing is the company who manage the shop. It will mean that Tim will be predominantly on the other side of the bar, but everything else will remain the same.
Is Ben staying?
Yes, Ben will still be there as before working with Will and Caroline.
Will the Boyds clothes and FlyBys still happen?
Yes, the next FlyBy is on Sunday 2nd June, and we’ll have Fold Me Close and Roll Your Own Records there, so it would be great to see lots of friendly faces coming along to support this. We will continue to be the only retail stockist in Bedford for Boyd’s clothes where you can come in, try them on and take them away!!
What happens if I have a gift voucher?
All gift vouchers will be carried over and honoured to their expiry dates (12 months from the date of purchase); you don’t need to do anything.
What will happen to my loyalty balance?
This is slightly more complicated. Over the time Beerfly has been operated by Chapters Retail Ltd, we’ve been using the Vend/Lightspeed POS. This included the option to give store credit that could be accrued on qualifying purchases. Unfortunately, with the change of ownership the POS will also be changing, meaning that any unused loyalty liability will also be lost. We have also come to the end of our contract with Lightspeed and it makes sense to end it as this point.
The scheme will be replaced with a new loyalty scheme, the details of which will be released shortly by the new team.
Due to the tight turnaround on completing the deal and Sunday being the Street Festival, the last date when the loyalty can be spent will be this Saturday 25th May.
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