Our name has changed!
From now on we’ll be known as
Hopley House

Which, to be fair, is something that quite a lot of our customers call us anyway, so it’s not such a great leap. And here’s something maybe you didn’t know – our name is gotten from John Hopley, the then headmaster of Occleston (now Wimboldlsey) school, who built the farm in the 1850’s.

We also have new roadside signs replete with our brand spanking new logo (also to be seen at the top of this page).

We think the new logo suits us down to the ground. It’s bright, quirky, and fits well withy our ethos, yet is still quite contemporary.

As is our new strapline : Deliciously Local, Lovingly Made!
 
We haven’t stopped there. This wouldn’t be the Reade family if they just stopped there, plopped down on the sofa and whacked the telly on!
 
Our Shop has moved!

We haven’t just changed a few things around…

We’ve moved everything! Lock, stock and barrel between closing on Christmas Eve and re-opening on the 4th January. We moved the fridges and freezers; the shelving units and tables and all the stock, too. We were pretty busy during our supposed Christmas break.

Thanks to our brilliant local tradesmen for their sterling work on the new shop; Sharon for painting it; and the family for shifting everything in an incredibly short space of time – the carpet was fitted on New Year’s Eve and everything came out of the old shop and into the new on that weekend.

The new shop might be a wee bit smaller than the old, but we think it’s warmer, cosier, brighter and a darned site more welcoming than the other. Getting through to the Tea Room is easier, too.

But do you think it’s better? Please let us know your thoughts on the matter.
 
The reason for our relocating the shop was, simply, to make more efficient use of the space available to us.

We tinkered with the old shop quite a bit last year, but the one over-riding thing was the vast amount of floor space that we just couldn’t fill.

And then we had the space just off the car park and adjacent to the Tea Room that wasn’t really doing anything.

We’d had plans for that room a few years back, but at the same time we were also doing a lot of work on the house and planning a wedding (Trish’s and mine in case you were wondering…my doesn’t time fly?)

So those plans got shelved for a time, only to be resurrected briefly last summer before we decided on a change of tack.

Demand for our bedrooms has been very high for a good long while, and demand for ground-floor rooms (something we’ve been missing for a few years) is growing.

So, it was decided (by Trish & Margery) to convert the old tractor shed into a new shop and knock through into the Tea Room.

And then convert the old shop into four new ground-floor bedrooms.

Sounds easy when we say it like that.

Well, we’re halfway through the master plan, and work will be commencing on the second half probably as you read this.
 
During erecting new signs and humping things from shop to shop – and yet only having one eye that worked properly (he’ll tell you if you ask him) – Peter still found the time to build a new ramp up to our new entrance. He had some help moving the slabs because he is getting on a bit, but his aim with the trowel and cement – despite his ocular handicap – was second to none.
 
And then we have our new website at www.hopleyhouse.co.uk

It’s up and running now, and one feature we’re proud of is the opportunity for you to book our bed & breakfast rooms via the wonder of the interweb. Modern technology, eh? Isn’t it brilliant?

The website is still very much under construction as, with a lot of things, we’re doing it in-house – and hopefully our personality and passion will shine through.

We still have an e-mailing list if you would like to join it, just drop us a line at eatshopstay@hopleyhouse.co.uk

And you can follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
 
Margery has introduced a specials board to complement the Hopley House Menu. What’s on offer varies daily, but you can guarantee it’ll taste great.

A huge hit as I write this has been the homemade Fish Pie, and also the Farmhouse Pie – all made using ingredients readily available in the shop.
 
Speaking of the shop,

Is there anything that we could stock that you would buy on a regular basis?

Let us know what you think about this and anything else you want to get off your chests. We appreciate your opinions and any constructive criticism.
 
Now, here’s the big question. Do you love us? I know it’s a big thing. Huge, in fact. But we love you, yes we do!

And if you did love us, could you…no, would you spread the word? Be evangelical about us here at Hopley House?

There’s a rather nifty website that goes by the name of thebestof Crewe & Nantwich and as the name implies it’s all local stuff on it, stuff that’s quite handy to know.

And we would very much appreciate it if you would write a testimonial about us on the website.

We’ll be running promotions with “thebestof” and also on Twitter and Facebook, so it’s always a good idea to keep a look out and see what’s in the offing.

You can read our feature on thebestof here.

The Testimonial option is available to the right of the screen just above the small map. Alternatively there are cards for you to fill in, if you so desire, in the Tea Room.

Thank you and until the next time,
Graham.
 
P.S. As usual we’ll be closed right the way over the Easter weekend, from Good Friday and re-opening on Tuesday 26th April at 9am.
 
Opening Times:
Tues – Sat 9am to 5pm
(Tea Room closes at 4.30pm)
 
Sunday 9am to 4pm
(Tea Room closes at 3.30pm)