Through the miserable depths of lockdown, two of the (very) local businesses that kept our spirits up with their produce were Pettigrew Bakery and Rival Brewing. Prior to the pandemic, we were already semi-regular customers of the former - but only discovered the latter when we added a couple of beers onto a Saturday night Dough Thrower takeaway order on a whim and realised they were based two streets away, even closer than Crafty Devil.
Pettigrew appear to have gone from strength to strength over the last two years - an impression confirmed by this week's announcement that they'll be merging with (taking over) Friends In Knead's outlets in Roath, Castle Arcade and the newly refurbished Newport Market and also retaining ownership of the tearooms in Bute Park. (What will happen to the Friends In Knead shop at Goodsheds in Barry is as yet unclear.) I think it's fair for us to claim some credit for the expansion, given the degree to which our croissant and coffee addiction has funded it...
As recently as last September, Rival also announced expansion plans - which made it all the more disappointing to learn yesterday that they've decided to call last orders. In the announcement on their Facebook page, the father-and-son team wrote: "We take full responsibility for this, although the economic climate has made things very tough." They started out supplying pubs, but when the pandemic hit were suddenly forced to pivot and sell direct to consumers - and so the current cost of living crisis and soaring energy prices must just have been another enormous kick in the teeth.
Rather than wallow in self-pity, though, they took the opportunity to endorse other local microbreweries worthy of your custom. As ever, the lesson with regard to cherished indies is use 'em or lose 'em.
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