The Shed Tap Room and Deli, at Fletton Quays, will from Friday, when it opens to the public, quickly become a go-to place for quality craft ales, cask ales, ciders, premium lagers, gins and delicious New York Deli Style hot and cold sandwiches.
But for the duo who have masterminded it, Karen Perks and David Nightingale, there is more to it than just another hospitality business.
It’s more personal.
The pair, who also run The Woolpack at Stanground, say they fell in love with the the old railway shed even before they had stepped inside. And when they did, they instantly knew how they wanted it to feel – rustic, authentic, warm and friendly.
Karen explained: “David’s grandfather and mine were both tappers working at The East Peterborough station site, so it's kind of personal too. We wanted to do the building justice by filling it with original vintage railway memorabilia, which is something that we'll continue to source and add to the collection.”
It certainly is an eclectic mix of furniture and materials, the vast majority of which is recycled.
"The cladding on the walls came from The Iron Horse Ranch House at Market Deeping, which sadly closed, and the bar was recovered from a closed bar in the Wirral and given a facelift,” Karen pointed out.
"Some of the chairs have come from Tap & Tandoor. They were chipped and rusting, but we saw the beauty in them and preserved the rust rather than painting them.”
They even repurposed a lot of what Greggs (the previous tenant of the building) left to minimise waste!
Karen describes it as “great fun building something fresh from the ground up, sourcing second hand furniture and equipment and adapting the designs to accommodate, rather than buy new" although she did admit to one indulgence.
“We did get a bit excited and bought a new train to run around the bar,” she said, adding: “We hope that people love it as much as we do. We can't wait to welcome people on Friday 4th October when we open the doors at 11am."
