New tenants for popular Sandsend stores

One of the North Yorkshire coast’s best-loved village shops has new tenants.

The popular Sandsend Stores, the heartbeat of this tourism hotspot, will now be called Mary’s Sandwich Shop and be run by brothers Gabe and Cameron Hill, the team behind the popular local burger brand Mad Mary’s. It will reopen next month.

The brothers, from Whitby, are currently fitting out the popular shop, which has been closed since March following the retirement of previous tenant Alex Miller.

The village shop, which dates back to the early 20th century, is owned by the Mulgrave Estate.

Robert Childerhouse, Mulgrave Estate Manager, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Cameron and Gabe to Sandsend, where their plans for the former stores are very much welcomed and supported by the Estate and the local community.

“It is very rewarding to be able to offer this opportunity to two young, forward-looking and entrepreneurial local people, which has enabled their dream to become reality. I am sure they will be very successful and we look forward to working with them for many years to come”.

Cameron commented: “This is an absolutely brilliant opportunity for us. Gabe started out in Sandsend with Mad Mary’s, a mobile horsebox serving up California-style smash burgers. So the location made perfect sense and it feels like we’re coming full circle.

“We had talked about opening a physical shop in the area and when we saw Sandsend Stores up for lease the very next day, we couldn’t believe our luck. Within two weeks, we had signed the lease.”

Gabe added: “I’ve always wanted to open a sandwich shop and with Cam recently moving back from Buenos Aires and a perfect space becoming available in Sandsend, it just felt like the right time. You can expect all the quality of Mad Mary’s, but with a different look and heaps more to offer. We’re going to be serving some seriously good sub-style sandwiches, along with a strong breakfast offering, premium local coffee, craft beer and natural wines. But don’t panic, there will still be burgers available over the weekends.

“We know that the store has been a key part of the community for decades, and we want to keep that neighbourhood/community feel, but while making it into a destination food and drink venue as well. We’re keeping the store side of the business going so people will still be able to buy everything they’ll need to cook up a breakfast or get their hands on some good quality produce, whether it’s dry cured Yorkshire bacon or milk or local bread or just some cool deli goods.”

“Now we have walls and a stable base, we’ll be open every single day, taking everything Gabe’s built over the past three years and really pushing the variety and quality of what we can offer.,” Cameron explained.

“We love it around here. It’s the chance to work with a constant sea view; looking out from an old building with heaps of character and potential. It’s a deceptively large space, with room outside on the sea-front and rising up to the hill behind, where we plan to expand seating to run special events and grow our own produce. It’s going to be good.”

Sandsend is an established and very popular tourism destination on the Yorkshire Coast. The sandy beach and its proximity to the historic port of Whitby and the North York Moors National Park makes the village the vibrant hub that it is.

Robert Childerhouse continued: “The Mulgrave Estate has exciting plans to enhance the village and its immediate surroundings with more retail opportunities, increased car parking facilities - opening this year - and eateries in the next few years. Mary’s Sandwich Shop will be a crucial part of these plans.”

The most famous couple to run Sandsend stores were Dougie and Elaine Raine, who started working there in 1965, before acquiring the business nine years later. They stayed there for 34 years. There’s every chance Cameron and Gabe will do the same.