The Food Stop, near Bridgnorth, has been in the hands of the current owners for 20 years and its a sad day today as after a long sunday shift it will be no more as current owners are closing the doors for good. We catch up with them for a chat about life running the cafe.
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00:00So we're here with Adrian and Karen Goodall. It's the final day at the Food Stop Cafe.
00:08You've been open for how long?
00:09Just over 20 years.
00:1120 years.
00:1220 years.
00:13Karen's been getting up at 4am for 20 years.
00:17Early shift, late shift.
00:20Yeah.
00:21First of all, I just wanted to get your feelings about the fact that you're closing today.
00:25How do you feel about it?
00:27It's a sad day. It's a sad day.
00:30A lot of people don't know.
00:32Yeah. A lot of people.
00:34It's a fraternity and this is our social life as well and there's just so many people that
00:40potentially we're not going to see again.
00:43It's sad.
00:45Are you confused?
00:46Yes.
00:47Is it a case that a lot of these customers become your friends?
00:50Oh, sure. Yeah, yeah.
00:53No matter where we go in the country, you're always coming to somebody who's been down here.
00:59You can't get away, can you?
01:01No. Can't go anywhere without being recognised.
01:04I don't know how famous people come because it's hard. It's hard.
01:08Yeah.
01:09It's hard.
01:10Yeah.
01:11What have the customers been saying to you since you've been going to your shops?
01:17They're not happy.
01:20I don't think they're going to come round to our house.
01:27I guess it's got to be sad for them. It's been a long time they've been coming here.
01:31It's changed your mind?
01:33Yes.
01:44What is it that's made it special?
01:46Us!
01:50I mean, two lads running before, you've got to be careful.
01:56Even the bikers, you go in different places.
01:59But when we took over, me and Regan were pretty good.
02:03Yeah, yeah.
02:04We added a bit of pizzazz, a little bit of eating pizza, but it actually didn't work.
02:09I mean, the customers take the piss out of the girls, and the girls take the piss out of the customers.
02:16Yeah.
02:29I guess for you guys, in case you're missing the staff, does the staff become like family after you leave?
02:34Oh, yeah, yeah.
02:36Yeah, we're always on the prowl to meet, too. We're always there for each other.
02:41The customers, we get the customers' bonuses and prizes.
02:45It's just, it's like a big family.
02:49Any particularly memorable characters over the years?
02:52Yeah, I don't know.
02:54We've got Jim and Chandra, remember?
02:57Yes.
02:58Jim, bad people, bad people.
03:00Yeah, T-Bag, yeah, yeah.
03:02We had Komo, the king.
03:04We had Poor Nose, poor people.
03:07Yeah, yeah.
03:08In the wintertime, when it's snowing, they'll come down in the cars, and we're all in here.
03:21It's quite quiet, and they dared us to take our clothes off, just down to our underwear,
03:27and go on the car park and do Snow Angels.
03:30So a group of us did, and we're there, and we're doing Snow Angels, and it was absolutely freezing.
03:36It's just that banter, it's that dare.
03:41You do that, I'll do that, okay.
03:43And you push each other, it's just good, isn't it?
03:47It's a really wide menu, isn't it?
03:50Is that what people want changed nowadays, or what's the staple?
03:55One of people's favourite examples is sausage and egg sandwich, yeah?
03:59And day breakfast.
04:01Yes, yes.
04:02It's always just stayed the same.
04:05We do take it with day, it doesn't sell at time.
04:07We do, but we don't do many of it.
04:11We did go to Chewy's in the summer.
04:13Oh, yeah, the cottage boys.
04:16Nobody used to be a good one.
04:18Well, they can't get any more.
04:23You guys, what's the plan now?
04:26I'm going to go and work at the horse yard on the farm.
04:30Okay.
04:31And he's retired.
04:32Again.
04:33Again.
04:39I love it.
04:40Any plans for a holiday, a bit of a break afterwards, or when it's all over?
04:44Yeah.
04:45Yeah, we've got a lot of work to do before we can finish.
04:49Our last tournament was 2012.
04:53Yeah.
04:54Yeah.
04:55Yeah.
04:56It's been alright.
04:59It's been good, hasn't it?
05:05Yeah, they do.
05:06I don't.
05:07You don't.
05:08No, no.
05:09Four o'clock in the morning, I don't.
05:12I'm fortunate, really, because I'm a lark, eight and a half,
05:16so I always do the early shift.
05:20And eight gets up late, really, just the close down.
05:23So it's worked quite well, really, hasn't it?
05:26And we work seven days a week up until 2020.
05:3422, and we started to close on a Monday.
05:39And the grief we had.
05:41How dare you, it's a bank holiday.
05:43Where are we going to go?
05:46Even though we closed, if you come back for a Monday when we closed,
05:51it's still a bit of a dead site.
05:56And if it's not snowing on Christmas Day, you can drive by,
05:59and they'll be buying us ice cream.
06:02We did a big Christmas party once for Michael Rutter.
06:08That was a good day.
06:11It was an auction day, yeah.
06:13We were raising money for Barry Raglin as a TT racer.
06:19What was Michael's dad's name?
06:21Tony Rutter.
06:22Tony Rutter, yeah.
06:23And they don't want to answer.
06:27I've done a lot, really.
06:28I've raised thousands for their amulets.
06:36So it's the sadness that is driving you.
06:40Yeah, it's not.
06:41I'll tell you what's been the hardest.
06:44Grown men.
06:46Birdie boyfriends.
06:49Crying.
06:51Because they've been giving me a pump.
06:54Saying how much they did on me, so I've got goosebumps again.
07:01That's been really hard to deal with.
07:04The emotion for the customers.
07:08We call them customers, but we say lads all the while.
07:11The lads and the lasses.
07:13The boys.
07:19Would you like to ride a horse yourself?
07:21Yeah.
07:23Will you have a bit more time to get out and enjoy it?
07:26Yeah, every day now.
07:29I've been riding a horse for a year.
07:31I've been riding these motorbikes.
07:34I'm back operation in 2015.
07:38So I don't ride motorbikes as much now.
07:41Just because of the pressure on the back.
07:45So I just do horses.
07:46I've been so pumped.
07:50You're getting me on live, aren't you?
07:55Any final message for your customers as you're leaving?
07:59Just thank you for all their support over the past 20 years.
08:03Well, there's that.
08:04What we do is just bring happiness in.
08:07Goosebumps again.
08:10I'm going to have a cab in Wales.
08:12I'm going to have a cab in Wales.
08:15You're guaranteed there's always somebody there who wants to hear.
08:20Just follow each other around.
08:26It's just been a pleasure, really.
08:30To meet so many people.
08:34It's been a bit different.
08:35It's been more of a pleasure, isn't it?
08:37It gets harder as you get older.
08:39As you get older.
08:41And they've all started to climb in now.
08:44Hi, Karl!
08:45It's a good job he's already done it.
08:50Fantastic.
08:52Congratulations. Thank you.
08:55What a bunch of memories.
08:57Huge memories.
08:59Some of the things that I've seen on the latest book have just made me cry.
09:04It's the emotion that is the key to the messages.
09:11And they'll all help you out there.
09:14It doesn't matter what you're up to.
09:17I can ask them anything.
09:19If I'm busy, we need washing up to it.
09:21They'll come and help you wash it up.
09:23Thank you for everything that you've done for Liverpool.
09:26No worries.
09:27I'll see you soon.
09:28See you.
09:36Hi!
09:38Hi!
09:39I was just inside a room.
09:41Two lads from this place, very friendly lads,
09:44they walked down to the gate and said,
09:47Hello, how are you?
09:48I'm happy to have you on.
09:49I got to the back of the line.
09:52No matter where you are,
09:53if anybody comes past us right now,
09:56if you break into the car,
09:58they'll be able to stop.
09:59No, you'll stop.
10:00If you break in on the car,
10:01you can't stop.
10:02One of these lads is stopping now.
10:07That's one of our young girls there.
10:09She started working with us
10:11when she was just a little girl,
10:12still at school.
10:14She's a Saturday girl.
10:20And now she's a mum.
10:23It's crazy.
10:28Fantastic.