Seafront shops in Burnham-On-Sea are reporting bumper trade as the heatwave brings extra visitors into the town.
Sales of ice cream, take-away food and beach goods have been ‘brisk’ during the hot spell of summer weather, say some traders.
Geoff Lewis, who runs The Treasure Chest on The Esplanade with his wife, said: “We have seen our busiest season for ice cream sales in the 29 years we have been trading here. We sold out of cold drinks on Wednesday and have had to place extra orders for ice cream to keep up with demand. Sales of beach goods have been brisk too.”
Lee Bond at The Esplanade Fish Bar added: “It has been exceptionally busy – our overall sales are now up on last year despite the lockdown. We have made up for that lost sales over that period. We have seen record trade for fish and chips and ice cream – people like being able to eat outdoors and stay safe.”
Gavin Holman at Brit Chips added: “It’s been really good for us. We have seen lots of our regular customers return who holiday in the area year after year and also a massive support from our locals who have supported us throughout.”
Staff at The Pavilion say they have also been busy with the influx of visitors amid an overall upsurge for staycations this summer due to the Covid pandemic.
Sonya Fudge at Bay View Cafe added: “It has been very busy for us, but because we have reduced our number of tables inside the cafe down from 22 to eight to allow for social distancing we have had lower trade overall.”
Some town centre shops are also enjoying a boost in trade. Take away food outlets like Greggs and Subway in the High Street have been very busy while Colin Morris at GW Hurleys said he’d sold out of cold drinnks on Wednesday. Colin added: “Things are ticking over nicely overall.”
