Strictly star left ‘speechless’ by kindness of Northampton town centre business ahead of show
A Northampton town centre business opened especially for a Strictly Come Dancing star ahead of her show at a nearby theatre that evening.
Grandbies, which opened in St Giles’ Street in August 2023, aimed to create a Scandinavian-inspired haven with a coffee house, clothing boutique and a space for the community to gather under one roof.
The Grandbies team has been successful in adding a luxury coffee shop to Northampton, while also offering a family-friendly environment and a commitment to the community.
It was not long after the opening that the family expanded with a second premises a few doors down on St Giles’ Street, which began as a homeware store. However, following demand from the community, this has now been converted into a dedicated event space.
Grandbies was paid a visit by Dianne Buswell, who has been a Strictly Come Dancing professional since 2017. She was in the town centre ahead of her show with co-star Vito Coppola at the Royal & Derngate last Wednesday evening (July 2).
Although Grandbies was closed that day due to construction work happening outside on St Giles’ Street, the team kindly opened the shop especially for Dianne who was on the hunt for a matcha latte.
Having documented the experience on a video posted to her TikTok page, Dianne and her fellow performer Talia had done their research into where to get the best matcha in Northampton – and were led to Grandbies.
The Strictly pro described the situation as “crazy” and she could not believe the lengths that the business went to get them the matcha they were searching for.
Dianne later praised the “great matcha, great service and lovely people” and this was the “highlight of their day” ahead of the performance at the Royal & Derngate that evening. As a thank you, Dianne made sure to give the business a plug on her TikTok page.
To add to that, the Grandbies team then sent flowers to Dianne’s dressing room at the theatre and this left her “speechless”.
One of Grandbies’ business development managers VV Brown, who is the daughter of founder Marion Brown, reached out to the Chronicle & Echo to share this lovely tale.
“It was such a special, organic encounter,” said VV. “We already get many crew members from the theatre visiting us, but having Dianne herself pop in was a real honour. It was a little moment of serendipity that reminded us of why we do what we do.”