For 155 years, the distinctive aroma of freshly-brewed coffee has filled the air on Bank Street in Carlisle.
John Watt & Son is a bona fide Cumbrian institution but, like so many local businesses, the Covid-19 pandemic has presented a unique and unprecedented set of new challenges.
Director Peter Johnston remains positive and grateful but admits that he is concerned for the future of the high street due to the fallout from the pandemic.
“I think if we had not been prepared to look at different ways of doing things and taken chances 18 months ago, this lockdown would have been catastrophic for us,” he said.
“I’m really concerned what the high street is going to look like in the new year.
“We’ve diversified by now also running home deliveries deliveries, which we run ourselves within a radius of Carlisle as it’s our priority that our customers get their products. I would say our service has gone back to how it was in the 1950s, for example, when we…
