Aveton Gifford Village Shop - Aveton Gifford Community Website

As a village shop and Post Office we aim to supply all the needs of the community on a day-to-day basis.

Aveton Gifford Village Shop Association was formed when the last village shop with its Post Office closed in 2003. Fundraising for a new community shop began and villagers bought shares priced at £5 each. The new premises, a purpose-built timber-framed building that opened for business on the 1st August 2009, is a result of the hard work of committee members at the time, the shop staff, and the community’s support for the scheme,

NB – After a couple of attempted break-ins to the shop and the stock room behind, and an attempted fraudulent money scam, the interior and outside of the shop are both protected by CCTV.

Aveton Gifford is a community-owned shop. For the first 5 years it was run by Dinah Ashton and supported by Miriam Cole and many other members of staff and volunteers. Over this time Dinah steadily increased the range of produce and upped the footfall, so that now we have a thriving shop in our village, with a busy Post Office counter. Dinah retired in 2018, and the shop was taken over by Peta Harper.

Since the tragic death of Peta in November, the owners of the Holywell Stores (St Ann’s Chapel), Jas and Jaswinder Kooner, with Jas’ brother Sukhjinder Sran, have taken over the running of both the shop and our vital Post Office.

The shop continues to thrive. The Post Office counter in the shop is open every day of the week including weekends, and customers are able to withdraw cash, purchase Euros, pay in money or cheques, pay certain utility bills (if they are bar coded), send parcels every day of the week, and all the usual facilities of a local post office. Phone card top-ups, gift cards and electricity key top-ups can also be purchased here.

You can buy coffee or hot chocolate to take away or sit and enjoy here; a table and chairs is in the shop, or sit outside at the picnic table on sunny days! You can also get hot pasties to take away.

The shop sells locally produced products where possible and continually adds more. As well as the basics – milk, bread, eggs, meat and vegetables – we have a wide selection of other local food and treats as well (see the list below). The shop also supplies household goods, stationery, newspapers and much more. For eco-friendly shoppers, we have the Ecover range.

There are maps including local walking maps and footpath guides, and local publications including “A Countryman’s Glimpse of the Twentieth Century”, “The Bombing of Aveton Gifford”, and “Aveton Gifford, A Heritage”.

Several other books by local authors are also on sale here; “Grimoire, a Wayward Tale”, by TA Newman; “Paw Prints and Teeth – The Adventures of Charlie and Lottie” by Zoe Woodham and Jack Kirby; “Epitaph to Nickle Eck – Childhood Mischief in Wartime” by the late Eric Yates; and “The Great White Palace”, followed by “Whatever Next” , the second book of Tony Porter’s memoirs.

A community Book Swap is also available here. A large number of good books have been donated, and this has become increasingly popular, now requiring its own big bookcase by the door. We also have a Film Swap shelf – dvd’s of films suitable for all ages have been donated – come in and browse for something to while away an evening, or bring in films you’ve seen but others would enjoy. £1 will purchase a film, and the money goes to the shop maintenance fund.

How about giving your kids something arty-crafty to make and bring out their creative side? Adults love crafting so it’s not just for the kids! Come in and look at our kits and bring out the artist in you.

You can order your newspapers and magazines here.

We accept all major debit and credit cards.

To establish your needs, wants and desires it is important to know what you want… and equally what you don’t want! If there is something that you think we should provide, or you would like something put by please ring us on 01548 550 996

FUND RAISING

We have a genuine community shop here further supported by a committee for some of the “official” aspects of the business and shop premises. Friends of the shop also help with other maintenance jobs to keep the shop and its garden in good order.

However, money is always needed, not just for improvements, but also for ongoing maintenance and to replace old equipment; chiller cabinets and freezers, a badly needed new till with an up to date EPOS system to make stocktaking and administration much easier, and the new stock shed behind the shop was essential. The community has always stepped in to help with fundraising ideas and events, and the parish council and our district and county councillors have also contributed towards bigger items.

TALKING SHOP

Seasonal vegetables and fruit supplied by local growers. We have strawberries in the summer, apples, courgettes and beans too, pumpkins in the autumn, sometimes damsons, crab apples. Our range varies with the seasons, and is still expanding …….
Challon’s Combe’s cows produce wonderful Organic Milk, Very Thick Double Cream and Yogurt.
Cuckoo Farm’s hens supply us with their lovely Eggs – Medium, Large and Extra Large
Halletts The Bakers bake a wide variety of delicious Breads and Cakes, including a NEW RANGE of gluten free products – They also bake wonderful treacle tarts, and various other delicious treats.
If you would like to order bread, bread rolls, croissants or any other type of bread for collection from the shop on Monday, please order by 3pm in the shop on Friday.
We can order bread for you on any other day if we receive your order by 3pm the day before.
Hingston Pasties & Pies hand make Pasties [Steak, Cheese and Onion, Cheese and Bacon], Sausage Rolls and Scotch Eggs
For those who prefer vegetarian or vegan fare, we are now stocking Clive’s Pies- handmade pies and tarts all made locally in Buckfastleigh. There are some mouthwatering flavours such as Homity Pie, Creamy Mushroom, Chestnut and Bean Cassoulet, Greek Lentil and Olive, Mexican Chilli, Tomato and Olive Provencale plus other flavours. The pies and tarts are delivered on Tuesdays and will be chilled as well as frozen. Come down and try them!
We also have Quorn mince and sausages in the freezer.
Local butchers supply us with a wide variety of Meat & Sausages,
Thinking of a Summer barbeque? We stock instant disposable barbeques, sausages, beefburgers, buns and more!
We stock Potatoes grown on a local farm by Lidstones.
Kerryn of Bunns ‘n Crumbs makes us yummy Brownies, Millionaire’s Shortbread and Lemon Drizzle Cake and also beautiful special occasion cakes.
The Bakehouse has now started to supply us with a large range of Cakes (Fudge Cake, Somerset Cider Fruit Cake, Chocolate Loaf Cake etc.) and Biscuits.
We stock the famous Ice Cream from Salcombe Dairy.
There are several local bee-keepers; Chillaton Farm and Grove Park supply us with as much honey as they can.
The Chilli Farm produces Chilli Jam, Chilli Jelly and now Sweet Thai Chilli Sauce!
We stock a range of delicious pick-n-mix marinated olives and garlic.
JB Preserves make wonderful Marmalades and Lemon Curd.
Heron Valley Organic make Apple Juice [Sharp and Sweet], Apple and Pear Juice and Cider.
We have Salcombe Brewery beers including Shingle Bay and Prospect.
Wine! We offer a large selection of different wines – most impressive for a small shop! There are often several selected wines on Special Offer – call in and see what we have!
We have a wide range of delightful Greetings Cards created by our very talented local artists – Sarah Harcus, Allan Green, Maggie Sharpe, John Ashton, Les Howard, Rococo Cards, Mackenzie Ringrose.
Jenny Reynolds creates a unique range of Necklaces, Bracelets and Earrings

PUT IN YOUR ORDER!

Our wide selection of different breads (including the new range of gluten-free products), and our pasties and pies etc are becoming increasingly popular, especially at weekends and holidays, and although we have increased our orders, sometimes we do sell out of your favourite things. To avoid this and be sure that you can get what you want you can always put in an order – either call into the shop, or ring us;