Shelton Lock Store Opens

Blog written by Elaine Dean, President.

Friday 10^th January was a bitterly cold day but I arrived at the newly open Shelton Lock store to find that the car park was full, the shop was busy and there was a queue in the cafe ! What a great start !

This store has been a long time a-coming; planning and building seemed to take forever. Now I was here finally to officially open it with popular Labour & Co-operative MP for Derby South, Baggy Shanker.

This building has some history and is loved by local people. In 1946 it was a restaurant called the Travellers' Joy and I know this because my parents had their wedding reception there. Later, in 1968 we held my paternal grandparents' golden wedding celebration there when it was a restaurant called the Golden Pheasant. It became a popular local pub known as the 'Phes' and was a well patronised local watering hole. In recent years it changed hands and name again and became The House of Darwin but like many pubs the trade dwindled and it closed its doors for the last time after ringing in the New Year of 2023.

Central Co-op bought the freehold and began the long process of turning it into a convenience store with an Insomnia cafe attached and a community space for local groups to meet.

Insomnia coffee shop opened on the 19^th December and again the ribbon was cut by Baggy Shanker MP and myself and that proved an immediate hit with the local community as crowds of people flocked to taste the many different flavours of coffee, tea and chocolate plus the delicious cakes.

The wallpaper in the store has some pheasants on to remind customers of its history and there's a large wall map of the Shelton Lock and Chellaston area.
The store has a customer toilet and baby change space, a water refill, lots of hot food and drinks to take away, a bicycle repair station and a huge range of fresh and frozen groceries and fruit and vegetables.

I am sure this store and its cafe are going to become the heart of the Shelton Lock community providing locals with a warm place to enjoy a drink, a toastie or a delicious cake before doing their shopping.