A Cotswold café that survived fire and floods has been named a Small Business of 2020 by Lloyds Bank for its entrepreneurial approach to lockdown and support for the community.

Vera’s Kitchen in Lechlade was opened by Emily Mapson and her partner Warren Nienaber in 2015 after they spotted the potential of a derelict former shop in the town.

Inspired by the café culture in Australia, where the couple met while travelling, they spent a year renovating the premises, which they named Vera’s Kitchen in tribute to Emily’s grandmother and great grandmother.

A café and juice bar by day, in the evening it transforms into a tapas restaurant and gin bar, with three B&B rooms too.

Despite being closed down by a fire in 2016 and again by a flood in 2018, by 2019 the business was thriving, employing 20 staff and even winning the Channel 4 Four in a Bed programme, which seeks to find Britain’s best B&Bs.

When lockdown began, Emily and Warren were determined that their business would survive, so they took to social media to ask their customers what services they needed.

Vera’s Kitchen became a retailer, stocking produce from local suppliers, including fruit, veg, fresh bread and baking ingredients.

It also held themed takeaway nights that took diners on a culinary tour, including Thailand, China and the US, and it began producing frozen home-cooked ready meals.

And the team provided free meals and produce boxes for local people who needed support, including packed lunches for kids during half term.

Emily said: “Our ethos is that Vera's Kitchen is a place for everyone. We cater for meat eaters, veggies, vegans and people with allergies and intolerances. We are also pet friendly.

“We’ve been through so much to build up our business and we were going from strength-to-strength, so when lockdown happened, we were determined to keep going and our customers have been fantastically supportive.

“It was important for us to be able to help out the local community too. No one should be struggling for food.”

Now Vera’s Kitchen has been named a winner in the Lloyds Bank Small Business of 2020 awards, in recognition of how creatively and quickly it adapted to the challenges of 2020, going over and above expectations.

Their prize was a business mentoring session with Reggae Reggae Sauce supremo Levi Roots, who shared advice from his journey to success.

Emily said: “He has had setbacks too, but his passion and hard work was inspiring.”

The Lloyds Bank Small Business of 2020 competition celebrates the small and local businesses across the UK and their inspiring energy and resilience in meeting the challenges of 2020.

Almost 900 businesses up and down the country were nominated by their local communities and 24 winners were picked based on how creatively and quickly they adapted to lockdown restrictions.

Gareth Oakley, managing director of Business Banking at Lloyds Banking Group, said: “The team at Vera’s Kitchen had already faced some massive challenges even before the pandemic and they have proved themselves to be determined and adaptable.

“Vera’s Kitchen was able to completely change the way it did business, responding to the needs of local people and providing a valued service, and it is truly deserving of this award.”