Altrincham's The Hive launch Crowdfunder to help expand

Steven Sherratt and Gareth Wilkins are the co-founders of The Hive, a general store and beverage bar based on Grosvenor Road, Altrincham.

They have been operating from a small shop and outdoor yard, next to the two now-empty units, since 2018.

The two empty units had long been used as storage for an Irish music company, but now the pair want to turn it into a coffee shop and a deli, selling local produce and world foods.

Steven said: “We will make it something that is the heart of the community.”

The new site has not hosted a business open to the public for around a decade, previously being a furniture shop, but much earlier than that the site has hosted fresh produce stores.

Gareth said: “Looking back at what the buildings looked like in the 1950s, they were a massive part of the local community.

“We want to bring that life back into those two buildings.”

For those wanting to pledge support, there are two different ways; either pledging money in return for a reward or donating to sponsor part of the new shop.

Rewards start at £17 for a week supply of coffee and go all the way up to £1,100 for a 4-hour event space hire with catering.

For those who opt to sponsor, anything over £25 will see their name on the donor website, on a donor plaque and they will receive a VIP invite to an event for pledgers.

Larger donations will also see respective furniture and appliances adorned with a gold plate carrying the name of the donor that helped buy each item.

Any undecided donors can take a virtual tour of the planned property, to see what their donations could help build, available here.

Physical work on the project is already underway, with the current target opening date set for November this year, and the couple are also open to donations of time to help with the renovations.

Steven said: “This isn’t just a temporary project, this is what we want to be doing for the rest of our working life.”