Indie Of The Month: Wholesome Fruit Veg & Mix And Café, Worplesdon Road

Published on: 20 Jul, 2022
Updated on: 20 Jul, 2022

By Hugh Coakley

A new fruit and veg shop with a difference has opened in Worplesdon Road, Stoughton.

Not only does Wholesome Fruit Veg & Mix sell un-packaged fresh fruit and vegetables, nuts and seeds, it also has a lovely clean, bright, spacious café to boot, and parking in front.

Wholesome Fruit, Veg & Mix, Worplesdon Road, Stoughton, opposite Sainsbury’s.

And you get a smiling welcome from the owners and partners, Jackie Davis and Tendai Chitunza, who started trading eight weeks ago at 91 Worplesdon Road, GU2 9RT, opposite Sainsbury’s.

Jackie said it had gone well so far. “I’m interested in healthy eating and so this fitted perfectly. We’ve had great feedback and we already have our regulars for a cup of tea.

Wholesome Fruit Veg & Mix – a fruit and veg shop with a difference.

“People like it’s fresh and you can buy the amount you want, maybe just one apple instead of a plastic covered pack of six.

“We want to move away from plastic and packaging as much as possible. Our nuts and seeds are in dispensers so you can fill up a bag or bring your own container for as little or as much as you want.

“We’ve been slicing up pineapple and melons and it been flying out. Many people don’t want to eat a whole melon or pineapple.”

Tendai said: “We aren’t vegetarians but we want to promote fruit and veg to those that don’t eat it normally.

“Many of our items are cheaper than the supermarkets as we get our supplies direct from markets in London.

“We are still finding our feet and gauging what people want.”

It had been hard work getting it all ready with Tendai building the shelving and Jackie painting the outside shady area at the back to make it a very pleasant area to have a coffee and a cake.

Tendai Chitunza and Jackie Davis, owners of the Wholesome Fruit Veg & Mix shop, Worplesdon Road, Stoughton.

Tendai said he had used mainly recycled material for the shop fit-out. “I was shocked how good it looked,” he said with a laugh.

They plan to offer their own range of ready meals as well, mainly vegetarian, but not exclusively. “We want to move people away from processed food,” said Tendai.

Jackie said: “Come in and have a look. We are really competitive and we are trying as far as possible to use local produce as well.”