Ivy Farm Shop showcases new look

The owners of the Ivy Farm Shop were proud to reopen their recently refurbished premises in March. The new shop is bright and modern but still informal and fresh – with its easy to reach location adjacent to the A17, it’s a perfect place for a small midday snack or a filling evening meal.
Creating a welcoming atmosphere is important to the Moses/Thompson family, who recently reopened their new look shop in Swineshead. The rustic exterior leads guests to a bright and colourful experience inside, with natural wood and wooden crates giving the farm shop a country farmhouse feel – cosy yet exciting.

Twenty-five years after opening their first shop, which lies adjacent to their farm, Manor Farm, the attraction has increased, which inspired the family to open another shop in 2013.

The business was initiated by Angela Thompson’s parents, who started selling daffodils from a table top over thirty years ago. Over the years, the farm shop has been given a boost by people visiting from across the country or just passing by. They have had an emotional experience, receiving national awards for their work and taking on the job of the renovation, but are pleased with the end result. The shop sits on nearly twenty acres, and future plans are to have a large grassed area for children to let off a little steam and to form an enclosure to house Alpacas.

There is an extensive range of quality fruit, vegetables and salads which are predominantly grown at Manor Farm. Within the shop Lincolnshire producers are well represented with quality produce on sale from the likes of Lincolnshire Poacher Cheese, Chapmans Sea Fish, Myers Plum Bread, Pocklingtons cakes, Dennetts Ice Cream and many more.

Since Manor Farm Shop won Best UK Small Farm Shop 2014 (The National Farmers’ Retail and Market Association), the proud families have been working hard to renovate the second large farm shop, a large new kitchen, chillers, storage and working butchery and delicatessen.

At the salad bar you can pick from a variety of sizes and ingredients. Choose a sandwich or baguette from the deli, where you can hand pick your filling and buy locally sourced cheese. Afterwards you can wash it all down with a soft drink or local alcohol picked from Lincolnshire microbrewers.

Angela Thompson, co-owner of the farm shop believes that their stock of cheeses, meats, eggs, preserves, juices and beers are “more of a showcase of Lincolnshire finery.” The shop stocks a large range of artisan gins and even stocks the Lincolnshire Pin Gin, which is brewed in Louth.

From fillet steak to pork chops the onsite butchery showcases a wide selection of the freshest meat. Boston based meat suppliers A Wright and Son proved complete traceability, often this is back to Lincolnshire based livestock farmers.

The spacious restaurant and outdoor decking area can seat over 180 customers, offering them a selection of meals and snacks, as well as daily specials. On Tuesdays and Sundays the restaurant hosts a popular carvery serving a choice of at least two meats, chipolatas from the butchery, homemade Yorkshire puddings and a plethora of vegetables. The friendly shop and kitchen staff are happy to meet your health and allergy needs, suiting meals to the customer’s dietary requirements.

Behind the scenes in the kitchen, Sarah is busy baking homemade giant scones and cakes that are great if you prefer a smaller lunch or snack.

With the restaurant’s growing popularity and lunch meals proving a real success, evening meals have been introduced five nights a week, with morning and afternoon meals available seven days a week.

The Ivy Farm Shop is proving itself to be an asset to Lincolnshire’s food culture.

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