A business on Wood Street has explained why it rebranded as a cafe and did away with its butchers counter.

Wood Street Foodhall is now called the Rockin’ Bean Coffee House, having lost a counter selling fresh meat and refocussing on coffee.

The shop, owned by Simon Rhodes, also once had a fish counter but still retains its deli.

Simon said: “It wasn’t profitable. It wasn’t being used by local people.Passers-by looked into the Rockin' Bean Coffee House with curiosity (Image: Newsquest)

“It's a definite loss to society when a small butcher closes. Unfortunately, what people want now is cheap meats, supermarket-branded packaged meats ready to go because, unfortunately, they haven't got the time or the effort to shop locally for good quality meat.”

He said the butcher was “very sad” to go, and moved on to a new profession. He recommends customers of the butcher go to Lambourn Foodhall, in Blagrove, instead.

The shop’s fishmonger was closed for the same reason, due to lack of demand. “It’s a shame, but that is the way life is at the moment”, said Simon.

But while meat and fish demand has gone down, demand for coffee has increased.Wood Street Foodhall, photographed in 2018Wood Street Foodhall, photographed in 2018

Simon said: “There's a coffee culture that we have at the moment. That's what people want. Nobody’s complaining about it. 

“The people have decided that they don’t want a butcher in Old Town, they’d rather a coffee shop.”

The news that the food hall had become a coffee shop led to some consternation online among Swindondians who felt there were already enough coffee shops on Wood Street.

But people like to have a wide variety of choice, argued Simon, who said the reception to The Rockin’ Bean had been very good so far.

Simon said: “It’s a good atmosphere, friendly and very vibrant. And good fun.”

He said that what set his cafe apart from the others was the atmosphere and service, as well as the type of coffee they use.

Their beans are supplied by The Hope Coffee Company, a fairtrade brand served in a number of establishments around Swindon.

The shop plans to host events in the evenings in the future, which will be publicised on its website.

These will include “Latin nights, tapas nights, steak nights - that sort of thing”. Simon has a musical background and was in a Swindon band called Down and Dirty, hence the musical name.

“We’re just getting off the ground at the moment. It should be quite good”, hoped Simon.