The owners of a children’s play centre who fed over 4,000 vulnerable people during the Covid-19 pandemic said they were ‘gobsmacked’ to have been presented with a Your Southport Stars Award.
Playtown, based at Ocean Plaza, won the Community Support Award, in a new initiative launched by Southport BID.
All of the nominees were chosen by the people of Southport as the BID held a special event at Bliss Hotel to officially recognise and congratulate local businesses which made huge efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Bold Hotel was a finalist in the category, while other shortlisted firms were Southport Pleasureland and Tezlom.
Despite the devastating effects on business brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic from March 2020, Southport Playtown owners Tanya and Louie Gaffney decided to take the opportunity to give back to others in our local community.
The couple and their team opened the Playtown kitchens and then cooked and hand-delivered hot meals to vulnerable families and elderly people.
A staggering 4,000 meals were provided to people across our town.
Staff at Playtown in Southport are cooking and delivering meals to people in need in the community during the coronavirus crisis
Louie Gaffney said: “When we heard we had been nominated for the Your Southport Stars Award, it was a shock.
“We were away on holiday in Florida when the awards were taking place. It was really good to be recognised.
“We were shell shocked when we heard! We just couldn’t believe it. We were really gobsmacked.
“When the Covid-19 pandemic happened and the country went into lockdown, we decided that we wanted to cook meals for vulnerable people in our community. We cooked and delivered over 4,000 meals, with things like Happy Meals boxes for children.
“We would do it in a heartbeat again if we needed to. But we didn’t expect an award for it!!”
Food from the new menu at Playtown in Southport
It has been a really tough couple of years for Playtown and other firms across Southport, but they are emerging from the pandemic in style.
Louie and Tanya Gaffney have been busy investing in improving their business still further.
They have launched their new food menu this week, and have also funded new carpets, equipment and decorating. Playtown is looking better than ever.
Louie said: “We are doing really well at the moment! We are very busy, with lots of birthday parties booked in over the next few weeks.
“We are planning to make some more exciting changes too – all will be revealed soon.
“We have just launched our brand new food menu.
“We have introduced more vegan and gluten free choices, and we also have more options for children, including for those with intolerances.”
The Bold Hotel on Lord Street was judged to be the Finalist in the Community Support Award category.
The venue is owned by Mikhail Hotel and Leisure Group, which also owns the Lord Street Hotel, the Lord Street Hotel Sports Bar, Punch Tarmey’s Irish themed bar, and operates the feature bar inside Southport Market. The group is looking to open ‘The Grand’ on Lord Street in June following a £3million redevelopment.
The new entrance at Playtown in Southport
When the Covid-19 pandemic struck the UK, The Bold Hotel Essential Items store was set up and running at The Bold Hotel by 21st March 2020, only 24 hours after a phone call between Andrew Mikhail the owner of Bold Hotel and Martin Blondel from The Steve Prescott Foundation (the former St Helens Rugby League player).
The store provided essential items in a safe environment for NHS employees, essential key workers and those supporting the elderly and vulnerable to shop 24 hours a day.
This was at the time when panic buying took hold and people were struggling to buy essential items.
Any profits from the Essential Items store were donated to The Steve Prescott Foundation whose volunteers also ran an Essential Items store in St Helens.
For more news about the Southport BID’s Your Southport campaign, please visit the Southport BID website here.
Do you have a story for Stand Up For Southport? Please message Andrew Brown via Facebook here or email me at: mediaandrewbrown@gmail.com
I loved as much as you’ll receive carried out right here. The sketch is tasteful, your authored subject matter stylish. nonetheless, you command get bought an shakiness over that you wish be delivering the following. unwell unquestionably come further formerly again since exactly the same nearly a lot often inside case you shield this hike.
Dear standupforsouthport.com owner, Keep the good content coming!
Metal waste sales Ferrous material recycling workforce training Iron scrap recovery yard
Ferrous waste reduction, Iron scrapping facilities, Scrap metal reclamation and reutilization center
Metal reclaiming process Ferrous waste handling Scrap iron recovery center
Ferrous metal supply chain, Iron reclamation and reuse, Responsible metal recycling
Metal recovery and reprocessing Ferrous waste reclamation operations Iron reclamation and recovery
Ferrous metal handling, Iron scrap export procedures, Metal recycling best practices
Scrap metal recovery and reclamation yard Ferrous metal reprocessing Iron scrap recollectors
Ferrous material lean practices, Iron recovery center, Metal recycling certifications
Sustainable metal processing Ferrous material recycling capabilities Iron recovery and reclaiming yard
Ferrous material recycling quote, Iron recycling services, Metal scrap dealer
Im not certain the place you’re getting your info, but good topic. I must spend some time learning much more or understanding more. Thank you for wonderful information I was in search of this info for my mission.
What Is Puravive? Puravive is a natural weight loss supplement that is known to boost the metabolic processes of the body.
Hi there! This is kind of off topic but I need some guidance from an established blog. Is it hard to set up your own blog? I’m not very techincal but I can figure things out pretty fast. I’m thinking about creating my own but I’m not sure where to begin. Do you have any tips or suggestions? Thank you