THE hospitality industry has been hit extremely hard by the coronavirus lockdown, with many cafes, bars and restaurants struggling to stay afloat.

Kerry Woodcock, owner of Woody’s Sandwich and Coffee Bar in Cainscross, said the support her cafe has received from locals has been vital.

“They haven’t forgotten us and we haven’t forgotten them,” said Kerry.

“It’s really nice they have stuck by us from day one, they are very loyal.”

Woody’s completely closed its doors as soon as lockdown began in March, but have been able to reopen up again recently strictly for takeaways only.

Kerry said: “We got rid of all our tables and we just have the counter at the moment.”

“It’s been tough but we’ve managed to stay afloat.

“What the coming months will bring I don’t know but at the moment we have been quite busy with our takeaways and we have had a lot of support from our regular customers who have come straight back to us which is lovely.

“But we have also had people we’d never seen before such as different builders and people who are generally travelling past going to work because there wasn’t a great deal open.”

Woody’s offers delicious freshly made sandwiches, as well as a breakfast menu including baps and baguettes, mouth-watering baked goods such as cakes, croissants and doughnuts, and of course coffees and cold drinks .

When the cafe is allowed to open fully, Kerry said: “We are planning on keeping our corner which is one settee with one table and we will possibly put a table in front on the window.

“We will likely only have three tables inside and three outside, and although it will restrict us quite a bit because we did get quite busy, it will enable us to provide a safe environment.”

To see more about Woody’s, visit: bit.ly/319skHm

The SNJ’s Love Local Business campaign encourages readers to support traders to help them recover from lockdown. Any business wanting to be featured should email oliver.spencer@localiq.co.uk