Sell out sandwich shop shares success of first month open – with exciting developments coming

A new sandwich shop, which has sold out on most days since it first opened in January, has shared the success of the first month and the exciting developments on the horizon.

Spread opened its first store on January 4 in Adnitt Road, Abington, less than three years after grazing tables and boxes kickstarted the business for 29-year-old Amy Adams.

The venture began when Amy created a grazing table for her daughter’s third birthday in May 2019, which saw a variety of foods placed decoratively on the table for guests to enjoy – and this sparked her passion to become more creative with catering.

Many of the guests asked Amy who she hired to create the grazing table and she then started to produce them for friends and family as a hobby during her maternity leave.

As the hobby gained momentum and the time came for Amy to return to her job part-time in September 2019, she never returned and took Spread on full time.

Founder Amy said: “It’s been an amazing month and we’ve been really busy.

“Everyone has been so supportive as we’ve found our feet and we sell out on most days. The feedback has been amazing.”

The 29-year-old says she “never expected this” and when she spoke about opening the shop, it was a worry that no one would turn up and they would be left with lots of sandwiches – which has been far from reality.

“At the end of every day I question how I’ve sold out,” said Amy.

A customer favourite from Spread has been the range of ‘flats’ – sandwiches made in a round loaf of bread and cut into quarters.

The ‘Spread flat’ combines everything from a grazing table into a sandwich, including brie, salami, olives, sun dried tomatoes, caramelised onion chutney, rocket and mayonnaise.

The sandwich flavours over the past month have included pastrami gherkin, chicken pesto, tuna, cheese, coconut BLT, and lemon thyme chicken, but these vary depending on the day.

Spread’s Instagram page has amassed more than 16,000 followers and Amy says a good reputation has been created by having a large following.

Most people hear about the business through Instagram, as Amy consistently posted about the grazing tables and boxes she did for personal and corporate events – and this is now the case for the sandwich shop too.

“When you have a large social media following, people see you as established,” she said. “I’ve kept up with it from the beginning and it has created a level of trust between the business and my customers.”

The business owner knew Abington was the only place she wanted to introduce her new specialty sandwich menu, on-the-go grazing concept and organic coffee, as she is from the area.

Amy had been eyeing up the building she is in now, which was previously a fancy dress shop. The landlord was happy for it to remain as a shop as it once was – rather than being converted into flats which was the original plan.

“Opening in January, I thought it’d give me the chance to ease myself into having a shop,” said Amy, who opened four months after taking over the premises.

“You don’t expect people to be around, as many choose to go on diets and money is tight after Christmas – but it has been such a crazy month and so full on.”

With a successful month under her belt, Amy is planning to make some exciting changes to the menu.

Spread will have a specials menu which changes every month, will start offering salads, and introduce fresh juices and smoothies in the summer.

Amy said: “Now we’re more confident and know what we’re doing, it’s time to switch things up.”

Another new development, which will be launched on Spread’s Instagram page soon, will be a competition for anyone to design their own sandwich.

The best one will be the special for that month and the person who designed it will be able to visit and have their sandwich on the house once a week for that month.

When Amy last spoke to this newspaper soon after opening, she mentioned collaborating with two other independent businesses who she shares her premises with – Hample Hampers and Nova Aesthetics & Beauty.

The three businesses hope to host a joint launch event on Adnitt Road around Mother’s Day, which will give people the opportunity to visit and get to know what they are all about.

More details will be available on Spread’s Instagram page soon.

Spread began as a hobby for Amy, who enjoyed making grazing tables, and when asked what she would say to anyone thinking of pursuing their hobby as a career, she said: “Just go for it. It’s so easy to overthink about the little parts of having a business that you haven’t ironed out yet.

“As long as you have the vital bits in place, and the time and energy to put into it, don’t let anything stop you.”

Amy is “so grateful” for the busy start to her journey with Spread, which has meant she has not had the chance to think long-term and map out future ambitions – but could not be happier with how things have begun.

Abington has proved a perfect location, particularly for walkers and passersby stopping for a coffee and sandwich before visiting Abington Park for a walk.

Even ahead of opening, those who live close by and work from home had already praised Spread for bringing something to the area that they had been calling for.

You can visit Spread’s Instagram page to keep up to date here.