All set for a busy season

Six new independent businesses have opened their doors to the public and started trading in St Ives ahead of a busy summer season for the Cornish seaside town.

Coco Kitchen, Delices Du Monde and Moorhouse & Co have opened for business in Tregenna Place, while Brocante and Cheese on Coast are operating on Fore Street and Mirva Gallery is now in situ on Chapel Street.

The new establishments are exciting new additions to St Ives’ busy independent shopping streets, which are actively supported by St Ives Business Improvement District (BID), which delivers a number of projects aimed at improving the trading environment of the Cornish town.

Coco Kitchen is a new business that runs chocolate workshops for all ages and abilities. Its sister company, I Should Coco, is an established chocolate shop based on Fore Street.

Proprietor Andrea Parsons said: “Coco Kitchen opened in late August last year, so this is the first season for us. We are right in the centre of town and we have just had a fairly busy few months, which I am so pleased about.”

Delice du Monde is also new to Tregenna Place. This new fusion food takeaway sells sushi as well as other Japanese food and dishes from around the world and is run by French natives, Chevy and Gwen Aberos.

Owner of Tregenna Place based Moorhouse & Co Barber Shop, Adrian Moorhouse is looking forward to his business’s first summer in St Ives. He also co-owns another barber shop in Doncaster with his brother.

“I moved to Cornwall a couple of years ago,” he said, “and the opportunity came up in St Ives to open a barber shop, there aren’t that many in town really. The premises in Tregenna Place sold it to me really, it’s a busy street.

“We have already started to build up a local trade, we get regular customers who come in, week in and week out but what I really didn’t expect was the trade we get from holidaymakers as well – it’s great.”

Brocante is a home and lifestyle store run by owners Kieron Cockley and David Lorimer, who have been trading for 12 years with established shops in Fowey and Mevagissey.

Also new to Fore Street is Cheese on Coast, the brainchild of Nick and Claire Gane, who are both qualified cheesemongers.

Nick Gane said: “We sell around 25 to 30 artisan cheeses, along with takeaway cheese-based foods and cheese-related gifts on the first floor sales area, basically all things cheese!

New to Chapel Street for 2018 is Mirva Gallery, a collective space for different artists and traders to sell their produce. Co-directors Angie Truman and Sue Young also run pop-up galleries and are hoping to open another space for artists and traders soon.

Truman said: “St Ives is great for the gallery as not only is there an artist community, there is also the tourist footfall and loyal customer base during the off season.

“Our artists and traders do come and go, so we’ve always got something new to come and see. We are really enjoying being in the space and at the moment we everything from upcycled clothing to locally made skincare products.”