Boost for Bishop’s Stortford town centre as two residents open new businesses, House Plants Express and Le Péché Mignon
Two Bishop's Stortford residents have invested in the town by opening businesses in empty units.
Ludovic Blind and Louis Bell are opening a café bistro and a shop selling indoor plants respectively.
Both already have successful businesses in London and have decided to open up in their hometown.
House Plants Express, owned by Louis, will open on Saturday (May 13) in Riverside Walk. The open day starts at 10am and ends at 7pm and all plant prices will be 15% off.
Louis decided to open up a store here after his success with a market stall in the town centre on Saturdays.
The outlet, off South Street, is the former home of Brighten Learning Centre, a private children’s tutoring company.
Louis moved to Stortford from Cheshunt two years ago and House Plants Express is his second indoor plants business.
In 2017 he founded London House Plants, which began as a stall on London markets. Its warehouse and showroom are in Lovet Road, Harlow, where 2,000 new plants arrive weekly.
Louis decided to brand his new Stortford store as House Plants Express to differentiate it from his London business.
He said the new shop would have more “style and glamour” than the Harlow warehouse.
Currently, about 15% to 20% of visitors to his Harlow warehouse come from Stortford, so he hopes House Plants Express will have a successful future in its new home.
Le Péché Mignon is an independent French café and fine food store. Ludovic Blind already has an outlet in Highbury, north London, which has been running for 16 years.
His new location, on High Street, was the former home of Timpsons, a chain of cobblers and key cutters.
It will open as a café and food store serving breakfast and lunch, with brunch at weekends. It is still confirming its opening hours but they are likely to be 9am to 5pm.
The business has applied to East Herts Council for a licence to sell alcohol from 8am to 8pm Mondays to Saturdays and 8am to 5pm on Sundays.
Ludovic said that Le Péché Mignon – which translates as ‘guilty pleasure’ – prided itself on imported cheese and its collection of natural and biodynamic wines.
He and his wife Mairead moved to Bishop’s Stortford four years ago.