The Westbourne Grocer is named Trader of the Week

And after only four weeks of being open, The Westbourne Grocer is wowing holidaymakers and locals with its offering.

Operations Director Ben Cartwright and General Manager and professional chef Adam Stocker have worked together for some twenty years, but recently joined forces to bring something new and fresh (quite literally) to Westbourne.

Ben Cartwright and Adam Stocker

Ben said: "We both live in Bournemouth and came back to the area to find that there is nowhere to get great products from.

"So, we created The Westbourne Grocer. It’s a beautiful shop in a beautiful place. Westbourne has a really nice demographic, but it was lacking really great groceries.

"The response locally has been amazing. Before opening we did some market research and asked local people ‘what does Westbourne need?’

"The feedback was amazing and people said they wanted a grocer."

The majority of the shop's offering is fresh fruit and vegetables sourced from local growers and producers, but Ben and Adam were keen to introduce unusual and exciting products to the area.

Fresh produce

Ben said: "90 per cent of our offering is fresh fruit and veg which we source locally from Sopley.

"We also have tomatoes from Isle of Wight Tomatoes – they are just phenomenal. We also go to the New Covent Garden Market twice a week to see what’s good up there and if there’s anything we can bring back.

"We stock products from The Dorset Dairy Co as well as really nice fermented goods.

"The shop has some particularly cool products. People were asking us for organics, so we bought some in, such as spaghetti squash.

Inside The Westbourne Grocer

"We have beautiful striped aubergines, onion squash and some greengages. We offer things you don’t normally see in this country too."

For Ben, what makes The Westbourne Grocer so unique is the dynamic between himself and Adam, who are both "completely nuts about food."

Ben said: "When we're behind the counter we hear customers talking about what's in the shop, so we offer them advice and they ask about recipes. Coming into our shop brings people together and you do not get that in many places.

More fresh produce

"We are only four weeks into this, but we do have plans of rolling the shop out into similar areas. But at the moment, we are committed to this site.

"We are big on seasons, so we want to put a big show on for Halloween and Christmas, with seasonal produce."

Outside The Westbourne Grocer

The Westbourne Grocer can be found at 61 Seamoor Road, Westbourne and is open Monday to Saturday from 8.30am to 5.30pm and 10am to 2pm on Sunday.

To nominate your favourite, local business for Trader of the Week, email maya.george@bournemouthecho.co.uk