A new food hall and butcher's is helping a garden centre bounce back from the impact of the pandemic.

Last year Millbrook Garden Centre, which has sites at Southfleet near Gravesend, Staplehurst and Crowborough, said it had lost out on more than £1million in sales after being forced to close – losing out on a "dream spring".

But when the government announced businesses would be allowed to reopen after seven weeks it heralded a glimmer of hope, and now managing director Tammy Woodhouse says the centre is doing better than ever.

Last week, the Southfleet site officially unveiled its brand new food hall and butcher's, offering a selection of food and drink predominantly from Kentish suppliers in Kent, and Tammy said the launch was a positive sign for the whole county as a well as the centre itself.

Nevertheless it had been a difficult time, she explained.

"In the first lockdown we were allowed to open after seven weeks of being closed so we got the end of the spring season," she said.

"We didn't recoup all sales lost but it was a lot better than we feared. I think it was because people got into gardening over lockdown, and because people weren't going away they spent more time in their gardens. All of that's added up to being a really good year."

But she says the recent improvements at the centre had been born out of adversity, adding: "One of the things that happened over lockdown was our grocer wasn't able to supply our restaurants. The restaurants couldn't open so we started supplying his fresh produce in the garden centre.

"That started picking up and became quite popular, so over the last 12 months we've increased the range of food. We've also gone into partnership with Rooks the butchers."

As well as the butcher's, the food hall offers a range of freshly-baked bread, preserves and pastries, free-range eggs, cupboard essentials, high-quality frozen meals, fresh fruit and veg, locally-brewed beer, wine and spirits, and various other items.

"It's really exciting," added Tammy. "We've focussed on local produce so it makes it that bit different from the supermarket.

"There's a higher frequency of visits. The butchers have only been going two and a half weeks so it's a bit early to assess the impact, but we're optimistic.

"It's early days but we're certainly getting repeat visits and good footfall. I think for everybody it's quite extraordinary when you look back and remember everything that's happened.

"It's been traumatic but also it's probably made us stronger as a business. We've looked for other opportunities and looked to be quite resilient and resourceful, and we've had to adapt.

"I'm not saying I would like to do it again. I think rollercoaster is a good word for it.

"If you look at what we produce in Kent, we've got over 20 Kentish suppliers in the foodhall, plus the butcher. It's really opened our eyes as to what we produce in Kent. As a county we should be really proud of that."

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