A reinvigorated community hub in North Wales is continuing to tick all the boxes in its drive to offer a healthier lifestyle to residents.
The latest innovation at The Centre in Ruthin is the opening of a sandwich bar with a weekly macrobox meal deal – offering a healthy choice with the right mix of protein and carbohydrates.
The idea has been introduced by enterprising husband and wife team Paul and Katie Edwards who took over the running of The Centre in April last year.
Since then they have been introducing a variety of clever concepts to increase the use of The Centre and to boost the health of the community.
Among the ideas which have already caught the eye is the installation of a unique gym pod next to The Centre.
Personal trainer Paul designed the gym pod himself and it offers unprecedented privacy and expert support to those who are targeting better health and fitness.
The sandwich bar is open from Tuesdays to Fridays from 10am to 2pm and
has been named The Grub Hub in tribute to the cafe Katie and her mum used to run in Denbigh.
The couple’s work at The Centre has received a ringing endorsement from the Pendine Arts and Community Trust (PACT), which supports community health and well-being, by Mario Kreft MBE and his wife, Gill, the owners of the Pendine Park care organisation.
PACT has been helping to promote the work of the couple as they look to increase the use of The Centre.
Katie, from Denbigh, said: “We’ve opened up the gym pod, and now it’s looking at the next phase of what to do.
“There is footfall there in The Centre now that we have grown the use in the last 12 months.
“There is a lot more people now knowing about the place, a lot more people using it – there’s the tennis there, the driving range, the football, so a lot more people are coming.
“We originally just had vending machines, which are great, they’re something people can access when they are there, but we want to offer something else now, so we thought we would open up a sandwich bar.
“In the new sandwich bar we offer the normal kind of sandwiches, bacon butties, toasties, paninis, but also offer healthier options as well to tie in with the gym pod and to those who are more health conscious.
“So we provide salads, pasta bowls, and we also incorporate a weekly macrobox, as it’s called.
“The macrobox will include a protein, a carb, and a green or vegetable.
“So it could be chicken with rice and broccoli for example and a choice of sauce to go with it.
“The macroboxes are a healthy choice for those looking for a healthier meal.
“Customers choose the protein, choose the carb, choose the vegetable or green, it’s all their choice.
“That’s the approach we take, we keep it simple, we have a macrobox for each week and then we change it weekly.
“The macroboxes are for takeaway and obviously if it’s a nice day people can sit outside, we’ve got the facilities for that.
“We’ve got ample parking outside so it’s great for those passing by.
“We also have healthy smoothies, hot and cold drinks, along with cakes and other snacks as well.
“Obviously being in the community, being local, we do want to use local suppliers.
“So we are using Henllan Bakery for our bread, local butchers for our meat, we source local eggs and other products.”
Katie will be initially running the sandwich bar herself, though will be looking to bring in further members of staff as the trade builds up.
The couple are brimming with more ideas on how to increase footfall at The Centre, so much so that Katie has now given up her role as a part-time fundraiser for St Kentigern Hospice to work at The Centre full-time.
She said: “The hospice job was a very rewarding role, and I loved it, they are lovely there and they do great work.
“We will still be supporting the hospice and looking to raise money for them at The Centre by doing some sort of event.”
The site, including the building, is owned by a community interest company, the Llanfwrog Community Association, and leased from Denbighshire County Council, with the various sporting activities being operated by different groups.
Looking back on the last 12 months of their tenancy at The Centre, Katie said: “It has been great, really amazing.
“Obviously it’s been a big challenge taking on something new when we’ve both been working, Paul’s got his own personal training fitness business, and I was working as well.
“We’re building things up at The Centre, there’s a lot more interest, a lot more regular classes and sessions that people are doing.
“I also offer catering for any functions we have at The Centre and we can offer catering for meetings and events here too.”
