Businesses boost at Llanelli Indoor Market

TWO new businesses have opened in Llanelli Market.

Maureen’s Floral Designs provides fresh and artificial arrangements for all occasions, from wedding button holes to grave pots, funeral tributes and wreaths.

There is also a selection of homemade baby and children’s clothing.

Owned by Maureen Harries from Llanelli, the stall is already attracting customers from as far afield as Abergavenny, Aberystwyth and Neath.

Maureen, who has been running the business on a more casual basis, including at the outdoor market and in the Elli Centre for the last eight years, said: “Having a stall in the indoor market is a big commitment but it’s going very well.

“Due to having a small workspace here, in most cases customer orders can be completed by the following day.”

Verve Cafe on Cowell Street, is a mother and daughter business partnership.

Kathryn Williams said it was her 18-year-old daughter Angharad Davies’ idea. She added: “Angharad wanted to open up a milkshake bar so we’ve combined the speciality milkshakes with a cafe doing breakfasts, home-made cakes, cawls, toasties and more.”

Within a month of their tender being approved, work to totally refurbish the cafe had been completed and it was open to customers.

Open from 7.30am Monday-Saturday, the cafe also does takeaways.

Inside the market hall Gegin Fach cafe has recently re-located to a bigger premises, offering customers much-needed extra seating.

Owner Richard Mainwairing, who will have been trading in the market for 14 years this Christmas, said: “The reason we moved was due to not enough seating. We now have seating for 25 people. It’s all gone really well so far.”

Since their move the cafe has changed their menu, now selling chips.

The move to a bigger premises has also created a new part time job and a Saturday job with the possibility of a further part time post being created in the future.

Carmarthenshire County Council executive board member responsible for the markets, Cllr David Jenkins, said: “It is always great to see new businesses open up and complement existing traders in Llanelli Market and it is also good to see a well established business such as Gegin Fach expanding their business. I would like to wish all three businesses all the best in the future.”

Find out more about Llanelli Market at www.carmarthenshiremarkets.co.uk/llanelli

Pic caption: Maureen’s Floral Designs; Verve Cafe & Gegin Fach cafe. Pictures taken by Jeff Connell.