Sisters are doing it for the community in Leadenham

Leadenham Tea Room. Left to right: Kirsty Kershaw, Karen Swift and Katie Mace

Karen Swift, 58, re-opened the village post office in 2012, and

daughters Katie Mace, 32, and Kirsty Kershaw, 28, set up a popular teahouse within the building last September.

Now they have added a flower and gift shop, with business going from strength to strength and proving there is still a demand for village post offices.

A number of post offices are closing across the country, and with plans to move nearby Caythorpe Post Office into the local Spar, the family say it’s more important than ever to build a thriving hub for Leadenham.

Katie said: “It’s really nice to be working all together.

“Myself and Kirsty originally had office jobs. I worked in sales and marketing and Kirsty was a fashion buyer, but she asked if I could do anything what would it be?

“I said I’d love to open a tea room so the idea came from that. We originally set up a deli and tea room in Nottingham which was really successful.

“After Mum re-opened the post office we thought about setting up a tea room here as a second business.

“Then we decided to move back to the area so sold the business in Nottingham and put the money towards the post office and teahouse.

“Mum was also awarded a grant of £10,000 from Lincolnshire County Council which was used to install hot water, new electrics, a woodburner, a resin floor and a separate toilet for customers.

“We matched this to invest a total of £20,000 into the post office and teahouse.

“We have invested further to open our new flower and gift shop. We sell fresh bouquets, handmade candles, luxury greeting cards and will soon also sell Sophie Allport (Lincolnshire based homeware, gifts and textiles.)

“That’s alongside working with local suppliers and producers, so in the deli we have local honey, cheese and meat.

“In July Leadenham Polo Club next door is having its summer tournament and we will be open for coffee, cakes and light lunch. We want to get people involved by putting up bunting and creating a street party atmosphere.”

Leadenham Post Office, Teahouse and shop is open Monday to Saturday.