A trailblazing young shopkeeper is in the running for a top award as a result of his enthusiastic way of working and commitment to helping the community.
Lewis Costley, 22, runs Oceans Stores down Ayr’s harbourside and has been nominated for ‘Best Independent Retailer’ at the Ayrshire Business Retail Awards 2021.
The businessman who employs two staff – Lewis Glass and Erin Watson – at his shop near the seafront high-rise flats has been giving back to his local community since opening in April 2019, but even more so during the pandemic.
Lewis, who lives in Ayr, said he was “really happy” to receive the letter through the post about the award nomination.
He said: “I was in the shop myself and I was a bit emotional at the time.
“You don’t do things for the recognition but it was nice to see that you’re appreciated.
“It was nice to see that you’re doing something right.”
Throughout the pandemic, Lewis and his team have been offering a free grocery service and keeping spirits high on social media including fun competitions and showing customers where their eggs come from by visiting the farm supplier.
Lewis said: “It’s been a tough time for people so being able to help out has been great.
“At the start of the lockdown we were doing free grocery deliveries.
“Anybody who had to self isolate would be able to phone us and we’d work out their shopping for the two weeks and then pop over and leave the bags at their door.
As for the eggs, Lewis said: “I genuinely did want to see where the eggs came from so I think it’s important to show that.
“It was really good getting to see the chickens and the farm, and getting an insight into their life and the supplier’s perspective.”
The businessman has also been helping to keep Ayr beach clean by introducing a litter-picking initiative where customers can fill up a bucket of rubbish in exchange for a free juice or ice lolly.
He said: “I saw the state of the beaches and we went down one day to do some litter picking. There’s certain things in the shop that nobody else in the town sells and some of the litter was from our shop.
“We thought that was quite bad so we cleaned it up but we don’t have the time to keep doing it; so we thought how can we motivate others to do it?”
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