I moved to Exeter three years ago and one of the first things I noticed about the area was the range of independent businesses and the strong community they fostered. When lockdown started, I found myself leaning on them more and more. Local food prepared with love became a highlight and an event for me, and I could see on social media that the local community valued the joy of great food or an unusual houseplant more than ever.
I’ve watched as these businesses developed online ordering platforms, collaborated on delivery systems and tested out ways to keep their businesses afloat while putting safety as a priority. The speed at which they have adjusted and adapted is fascinating and I wanted to capture it. This is the first in an ongoing series, documenting how local businesses are operating under new restrictions.
Red Panda’s food is stunningly delicious. And I’m not the only one who thinks so, judging by how quickly their new food collection time-slots disappear!
During lockdown, they’ve operated on a mostly pre-order basis and the entryway to their small Exeter eatery is blocked by a table, where they serve your food in recyclable brown bags.
Things have moved on a bit since I photographed Red Panda about a month ago. Back then, the usually bustling Gandy St was strangely quiet. The odd person or two would step out from a side street, while the colour of this small slice of Exeter seemed at odds with the lack of life passing through. I asked Red Panda’s owner, James, what it was like for them.
“It was scary. It still is scary you know, but a different scary. It’s just like, you were the only one on the whole street and it was quite hard. I have had more negative interactions with people during that period than I ever had in the shop. People shouting at me and banging on the window and stuff like that. You know, with the street sleepers I’ve never had a problem with, ever, and during that very first bit there was no money, there was nothing going on for them and they were obviously feeling very vulnerable. So anywhere that had any sort of life…they were just looking for someone to shout at, who might shout back at them, you know, just a reaction.”
At the beginning of lockdown Red Panda closed while they reorganised for safe operation under new restrictions before reopening in mid-May.
“I was happy in that I could start talking to people and do business and seeing cash stop going out and start coming in, which was obviously a big thing from a business point of view. Happy obviously making people happy, and then you get through to now, which is still scary. It’s still like, am I going to survive this? Is the business going to survive? It’s looking forward. It’s a very strange experience.”
“So much of this brand is that strangers meet in the shop when you eat in and just get to talking to people in the line and things like that. And, you know, we'd have our like Tuesday people and our Thursday people and things like that. We had our own names for them it's like ‘oh yeah she's our Tuesday girl’, and stuff like this because they've always come to us. And so seeing those people back in is lovely. Seeing that people are safe and happy and, you know, working our way through it and being able to bring a smile to their face when they get the food, they just missed your food, that's a really big take. I miss the buzz of the shop, a lot, I really do. I really miss that. That's something sad, that it may have gone for a long time. I always think it was quite a special little shop. You know, it's like, I always used to call it a village shop in the city.”
Find them online: Red Panda on Instagram or order for collection at either their Exeter or Lyme Regis restaurants via their website.