Dandelion Blue due to open within the week

Dandelion Blue, the much-anticipated deli that will neighbour the Broca on Coulgate Street, should be open within the next seven days, according to co-owner, Peter Foster.

The final touches are currently being made to the shop and we managed to grab a few minutes of Peter's time to ask him some questions...

What will you be selling?

We will sell a very broad range of produce, including cheeses, salamis, hams, sausages, oils, olives, antipasti, anchovies, fresh pastas, organic fruit and vegetables and easy-to-prepare meals.

We'll respond to our customers, so if there are certain things people tell us they want, we'll be happy to organise it. For example, at Christmas, we plan to order organic turkeys for our customers and we'll make fresh sandwiches on request. We hope people will think of Dandelion Blue as their deli, rather than ours.

What will your opening hours be?

9am - 8pm. We read people's comments about staying open late enough for commuters and recognise that it's very important to do so. We did initially consider opening earlier, but we watched people running for their trains every morning and decided there weren't that many people who were going to want to browse our antipasti at that time of day.

Was it important to open before Christmas?
We hope it will be a busy time and that's why we want to open as soon as possible, to give us a little time to get settled. We'll be supporting the Christmas Market on December 1st by running a raffle.

How will you differ from Degustation?

Obviously, Degustation is a specialist French shop and we're confident that our two businesses will compliment one another in terms of the range of produce that we offer. The more we've thought about it, the more we believe that we will benefit one another, by encouraging people to think local.

Why did you decide to open Dandelion Blue?

My business partner, Sandra, has lived in Brockley for a couple of years and was always disappointed with the quality of food available locally. While out locally, she overheard people with the same sorts of complaints and decided that it was the right time to go for it. My background is in film and commercials and Sandra's is primarily in marketing, so it was a big step for both of us. The messages of support we've had on Brockley Central and through our website have been very encouraging and kept us going when times got tough!