(Reposted from Adur and Worthing Council website)
A senior council leader has urged residents to shop locally as he toured independent retailers and businesses in Lancing to wish them well for the festive season.
With the national lockdown over, Cllr Brian Boggis, Adur District Council's Executive Member for Regeneration, spoke to businesses in the village centre to also see first hand the robust COVID-secure measures taken by their firms.
The visit comes as part of Adur & Worthing Councils' #WinterWelcomeAW campaign to encourage residents to support local businesses in a COVID-safe way.
Cllr Boggis first visited Italian restaurant O'Curniciello, which opened in the newly-improved Queensway just a week before the second national lockdown began.
Co-owners Abir Sondes Abed, Vincenzo Fiore and Nariena Fiore come from Napoli highly commended - Vincenzo holds a Guinness World Record as part of a Neapolitan team which cooked 10,893 pizzas in 14 hours last year.
The festive period will be an important time for the business, said Abir:
“Lockdown was difficult but we got a grant from the Council, which helped us. We've invested all of our money in the business. Our food is fresh, we have shipments twice a week from Italy and we're working with fishermen in Lancing. We're very happy to be here.”
Next on the list was The Village Florist in North Road, owned by mother-daughter duo Debbie and Leanne Butcher and husband-and-wife team Jo and Trevor Bruskett since 2011. Debbie said:
“Christmas has always been one of the most important times of the year for florists. It's certainly important to support local businesses - all the businesses in North Road know each other and support each other.”
