After meeting at university, Will Parry and his partner Faye travelled the world together whilst working in a diverse range of hospitality roles. They decided to settle in Devon, setting out to find the perfect location for their own café and restaurant. They took over their dream business, The Rivershack, in February 2019.
Located on the banks of the Dart estuary, they provide indoor and outdoor dining for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Whether you’re after a sit-down meal, some delicious pizza from their outdoor oven or a refreshing treat from their ice-cream shack, Will and Faye have got the perfect option.
After many pandemic-related delays, Will and Faye were finally able to celebrate their marriage in December. Following lockdown, they were able to reopen on April 12th, along with thousands of other retailers and hospitality venues.
“We’re lucky that we have a lot of outdoor space for dining, so were able to remain operational during the summer of 2020 as a mainly takeaway business. Our indoor dining area was only able to open for about a month last year!
In our first year, around two thirds of the payments we accepted were on card. However, in 2020 this increased, as more customers were following government advice and reducing cash use where possible.
This was great for us; minimising cash handling on-site makes life easier. Due to the popularity of card payments, we chose to go card only during the height of the pandemic in the summer. It seems like card payments are the future, fewer people want to pay using cash now.
Following government guidance, we were forced to close our doors in November 2020. We chose to remain closed until restrictions were changed again, as our outdoor dining area is usually quieter during the winter.
When we first took over the business, getting everything set up was a bit of a rush and I just went with a provider who looked reasonable and affordable. We came towards the end of our contract during lockdown, so I had a bit more time to really look at what I was paying for and shop around to find a better deal.
I spoke with a range of companies, both local and national, and was impressed by Handepay’s prices and payment solutions. There were lots of providers vying for our business, and some were quite pushy which I didn’t like.
When I visited my local fishmonger, I saw that he was using a Handepay terminal. He only had good things to say, and it was great to get some feedback from someone actually using their services. It helped me make an informed decision for my business, and I decided to switch to Handepay.
My advisor was great, he was helpful and friendly without being overbearing. He gave me useful advice and was flexible in working together to find the perfect solution for the business, while being open and honest about the costs involved.
He helped us to save enough money that we could upgrade to three terminals and still reduce costs!
We previously only had two card machines on-site, which meant moving the terminals around depending on where a customer wanted to pay.
As we have three separate dining areas, including indoor, outdoor and an ice-cream shack, it made perfect sense. We now have three separate card terminals on the go, which makes our payment process simpler and more streamlined.
Getting them set up was simple, and we were ready to start accepting card payments with Handepay in a short amount of time. From April 12th, we are back up and running. Our outdoor areas are fully booked and busy, and we’re looking forward to a fantastic summer!”
