COOK's Carfax shop reopens at 9am on Friday 2 October, the first in the chain with its new kitchen look. A customer of 20 years cuts the ribbon at 11am.
COOK’s shop on the Carfax reopens at 9am on Friday 2 October after a month closed for a complete refurbishment, and it is the first of the company’s shops to get its new look. At 11am one of its longest-standing customers, Brenda, who has shopped there for more than 20 years, will cut the ribbon.
The frozen food shop at 8 Sterling Buildings closed on Tuesday 1 September for the work. COOK, the family-owned company that makes its meals and puddings in kitchens in Kent and Somerset, has run the Horsham shop for 22 years: its own shop page gives the date it opened as 17 September 2004.
A kitchen island at the front of the shop
The freezers stay, still stocked with the same meals and puddings, which COOK says have won Great Taste Awards. What has changed is the layout. According to the company’s press release, the shop “has been designed to feel more like the heart of the home: a kitchen.”
At its centre is a large kitchen island that brings the staff to the front of the shop. COOK says the team will use it to hand out hot tasters and to help customers with “everything from weekly meal planning to choosing something for a special occasion”.
Instead of plain rows of freezers, the rest of the shop is arranged by the way people eat, with areas for weekday dinners, takeaways, easy entertaining, puddings and Christmas. The freezers have been clad and built in “so they feel more like furniture in a kitchen”, and the wall facing customers as they come in carries three words: Tastes Like Home.
Matthew Bourne, COOK’s Retail Director, said:
“There’s something really special about having a local shop at the heart of a community. We’ve been in Horsham for 22 years and have made lots of friends along the way. We’re really excited to be the first COOK shop to get this new look, and can’t wait to welcome everyone back, show them around and hear what they think.”
A customer of 20 years does the honours
Debbie, who manages the Horsham shop, has worked for COOK for more than 20 years. She said:
“I have led the shop for many years now and have been part of COOK for over 20, so I’m delighted to bring the new shop design to the good people of Horsham. I’m also so pleased that Brenda will be opening the shop for us. We look forward to welcoming all our customers back to see the new-look shop.”
Claire Postans, COOK’s Brand Director, told us the company sees its shops as “much more than places to buy supper. They’re spaces where people can stop for a chat and feel part of the local community.”
Some of COOK’s top chefs, as the company puts it, are visiting and will be cooking in the new kitchen on Friday and Saturday. The company says everyone is welcome to drop in, try the food, meet the team and look round.
Meals for the Salvation Army
The Horsham shop gives 20 meals every week to the local Salvation Army, which uses them to bring people together to eat, “creating chances for people to connect who otherwise might be alone”, COOK says. It puts last year’s total from the Horsham shop at more than 1,000 meals. Across the UK, the company says, its shops have partnered with more than 90 local charities.
The shop page also mentions COOK’s Community Kitchen discount: 30% off for charities, clubs and community groups ordering food for an event of 20 people or more.
What it means for you
- When: the shop opens at 9am on Friday 2 October, with the ribbon cut at 11am. Chefs are cooking in the shop on Friday and Saturday.
- Where: 8 Sterling Buildings, Carfax, Horsham RH12 1DR, telephone 01403 230449.
- Opening hours listed on COOK’s Horsham page (checked 30 September) for the first days after reopening: 9am to 5.30pm on Friday, Saturday, Monday and Tuesday, and 10.30am to 4pm on Sunday.
- Parking: the shop says there are a few disabled spaces outside; for the town centre car parks and their charges, see our guide to parking in Horsham.
- Click and collect orders placed online can be picked up from the shop once it reopens, and COOK runs a local delivery van from Horsham, according to the shop page.
COOK was founded in 1997 and opened its first shop in Farnham that year. It sells through more than 100 shops of its own and concessions in more than 1,000 other retailers, and in 2013 became one of the first UK companies certified as a B Corp, according to the company.
Have your say