Chadds in Stratford had regular customers for 24 years
ONLY a select few have made sandwiches and mince pies for the future monarch but Carole Chadd has done that and it’s one of many memories she will cherish after her business Chadds Handcrafted Sandwiches in Union Street, Stratford, served its last customer and closed on Wednesday (yesterday) after 24 years in the town centre.
Carole has chosen to retire in order to spend more time with her husband, family and grandchildren but she will never forget her loyal customers many of whom have visited Chadds every working day since she opened and have become good friends.
“We’ve had wonderful fun with fantastic customers and I’ve been extremely lucky with staff many of whom have worked here until they retired. We have one customer who has a cheddar, celery and apple sandwich every day for 20 years and another who has bacon, lettuce and tomato everyday for 20 years. It will feel like the end of an era,” said Carole.
She had worked in catering but decided to open her own business and chose an ideal location in town which proved a perfect choice for what she had in mind – looking after both business and shopping customers – and because of the freshly made sandwiches, baguettes and cakes on offer Carole has enjoyed a loyal customer base for years.
“I had a lovely friend called Graham Sawyer who was theatre manager at the RSC and I used to supply sandwiches for the green room and theatre – it was the most fantastic order. One day Graham asked me to make sandwiches and mince pies for a special guest so it must have been Christmas time. I was invited to meet the special guest and it was Prince Charles, the future king, who had visited the theatre one day,” Carole said.
Carole has special praise for her colleague and friend Jan Krime who has worked in the shop for the last 23 years and describes Jan as her equal and added that all the girls who have worked at Chadds have been “lovely”.
When Chadds closed there were many farewell and “thank you” messages posted on social media for which Carole is very grateful. Now she’s looking forward to reading, cooking and travelling in her retirement but first Carole had this to say:
“Thank you to all our customers we’ve had fun and incredible times together. Happy Christmas and a healthy New Year to all of you.”
