Business booming for well-known Stoke-on-Trent grocer at new shopping centre stall

A new fruit and veg stall has moved into a North Staffordshire shopping centre – owned by a family that many Stokies will already know well.

K&L Fresh Fruit and Veg owner Hayden Sumnell opened in Freeport shopping centre in Talke after multiple customers of his market at Royal Stoke University Hospital asked if he had a grocers’ shop anywhere else.

The 43-year-old already had another fruit and veg stall under the same name at Longton Market Hall, but thought Freeport would be a strong location for another branch.

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Hayden said: “People kept asking if I’d set up elsewhere, and I thought ‘Talke’s perfect’. When people have an appointment at the Royal Stoke hospital they love that they can buy fresh fruit and vegetables at affordable prices. But they told me that when they don’t have an appointment they struggle to find good fruit and veg anywhere else.

“Nobody thinks of going to the hospital just to get their groceries, so the new Freeport market will give customers the chance to buy it from somewhere they’re more likely to come to. The parking here is free and I’ve got everything people want. If I don’t have it in then I can get it in on request as I get the produce fresh every day.

”Today [Thursday 8 June] is only the second day being open. It’s going really well, especially considering it’s only the first week.”