Coronavirus: Well loved Hastings Old Town pub tranforms into a grocery overnight

The decision was made on Tuesday this week and the shop was up and running by Wednesday.

Essentially the All Saints Street pub has been divided into two with half of the building still acting as a traditional pub and selling beer to customers, with a limited menu. The Snug bar has been converted to a shop, which is accessed from the side doors, near Crown Lane.

Landlady Tess Swan explained, on Tuesday: “I have 25 staff to think about and had to react quickly and adapt to the changing situation. A few days ago everything was as normal, but it changed very quickly. We have been doing everything we could to keep people safe.

The shop contains a selection of essentials, including fresh vegetables, tinned items pasta, eggs and milk. Award winning baker Emmanuel Hadjiandreou will be baking fresh bread on a regular basis to offer in the shop. Cooks at the Crown will also be baking pies and other goods to offer for sale.

A new webiste is up and running and the Crown are doing deliveries all over Hastings and at Leonards as of Friday March 20. Visit www.thecrownsupplies.com.

The crown was relatively busy this week, with regulars and locals rallying around to support it.

See also: Peacocks clothing store in Hastings to close its doors on Saturday