UP CLOSE: Gay Puddy of Puddy's cafe and bakery in Street

Street Nub News aims to be supportive to every element of the community from business and shops to people and charities and clubs and sports organisations.

Everyone is finding it tough at the moment and is desperate to get back to normal.

We are profiling some of these local businesses and groups regularly over coming weeks in a feature called UP CLOSE IN STREET in the hope that we can be a supportive springboard for their full return to business as usual.

Today we talk to Gay Puddy of Puddy's cafe and bakery, Street, who shares some of the history of her business and thoughts on what business has been like during the coronavirus crisis.

During a Q and A session she also talks of what she feels needs to be done to keep Street High Street thriving.

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You have really built up a great reputation in Street for your wide range of food and your delicious cakes and pastries, tell us something about your background?

My family have been bakers since the 1920s, before that they had a farming background around Brent Knoll ,Lympsham and Mark.

My father started out delivering bread for my granddad with a horse and cart, within a six to eight-mile radius of Mark.

I am told that the horse used to know the round so well that they never had to untie the reins, it knew all of the stops and halted of its own accord.

The only problem was when the family wanted to go somewhere on a Sunday, it would automatically stop at all the delivery stops, not realising that it wasn't a working day.

How did you come to set up shop in Street?

My dad in the 1970s set up the shop in Street along with a bakery at Southover in Wells. We used to deliver bread all across the Mendip Hills around Wells.

He then expanded to take on the shop in Street, and supplied my sister's shop in Bridgwater in the 1980s so at one point all the family were in the business.

How much of the food preparation, cooking and baking do you do yourself and how long does it take?

Most of it is made and freshly baked on site, often from a 4am start by my partner John.

We use old-fashioned dough to make our bread, which takes longer to mature but is so much better than the bread you can get in the supermarket.

Who else has helped you make Puddy's such a success?

Puddy's has been a true family business, so my dad, my brother and my partner.

One of our biggest successes has been our lardy cakes and Chelsea buns, they are both massively popular.

People up north have even asked us to post our lardy cakes up to them, but the cost of this can be more than twice as much as the cake itself.

We also have regular holiday-makers stop by on their way to their break to get their supplies from us, and then they stock up for their trip back home again, including with cakes and buns for friends back at home. We are a lardy cake destination!

Where do you get your ideas and inspiration from? Do you have any formal training?

I received all my training from my brother and dad since I started work back in 1978.

When we first opened in Street we were at 102 High Street, but in 1997 moved into where we are now at 106 High Street, where we expanded.

We had to diversify from just being a bakery and selling bread and cakes, we became the full blown cafe we are now.

If we were to put you on the spot, what is your favourite hot dish and which is your favourite cake?

My favourite hot dish would be our roast dinner that we offer, and top cake for me would be our Chelsea buns.

You can eat all sorts of food at Puddy's, from breakfast to cottage pie at 10am if you want to, to our roast dinners, fish and chips, or lasagne, or you could just have a sandwich and a piece of cake.

What do you like about Street and its people?

Our local customers are really friendly and they have been very supportive during the difficult times of the coronavirus crisis.

Trade is slow in the cafe as people are tentative about going and eating out in all pubs, restaurants and cafes, not just us.

The shop, however, is ticking along nicely as our locals come in and get their takeaway food. We remain hopeful for the future.

The lock-down has been very difficult for all the businesses in Street, how have you coped?

We have had to use government and bank funding, and it has been a worrying time in more ways than one.

We are operating with a skeleton staff and have had to furlough some of our employees, so we are taking things very carefully.

I have to say that the government have been very helpful with their directions and funds, but the issue might be when all that stops and we have to deal with our normal expenses and make it on our own. We will see what happens.

Can you say something about your customers – do they tend to be regulars or people, perhaps, coming in for a special treat once a week?

We have plenty of regulars, but we normally also get lots of people visiting Street on coach trips who like to come in.

We are really missing them at the moment, the OAPs are drawn to the High Street to visit Edinburgh Woollen Mill and then come in to eat at Puddy's as they like to eat their main meal at lunchtime, or like to pop in for a cup of tea.

You obviously work very hard – what do you consider to be the three most important qualities/strengths to help you run your own business?

Staying power, having a food sense of humour, and enjoying a good rapport with customers and staff.

We have a lot of people visit for the friendly atmosphere as much as the food, and we always try and add a personal touch.

There is table service so it is not like McDonald's where you can order and not talk to anybody. We try and make things fun for us as staff as well as that always lifts the mood.

Do you feel the council/government should do more to support smaller businesses like yours and, if so, what would help the most?

Better incorporation of the High Street with Clarks Village would help, as would lower parking charges and no more food outlets in High Street.

The alleyway between Clarks Village and the High Street really should have been bigger when it was built, we need to get people coming through to see what the High Street has to offer.

Having to compete with national chains like Wetherspoons and Greggs adds an extra challenge, we have lots of independent stores, especially bakeries which is unusual, but having the bigger brands makes it one too many.

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Check out Puddy's Facebook page and what they offer here