THE owner of Geraldo's in Largs says her delivery service has brought an “overwhelming” number of new customers.

The shop has been closed since lockdown began, but traffic to Geraldo's’ website has surged by over 700 per cent.

Owner Toni Dawson says she wishes she had more staff available so she could open longer hours such has been the demand.

She said: “We have been very very busy.

“We’ve completely turned it around because we have a really good social media presence.

“We are busier now than under normal trading circumstances. We’ve invested a lot in our staff, shop and website over the last few years and thankfully it’s now paying off.”

With the shop closing just before the Easter weekend, Toni feared that she was going to be left out of pocket with surplus stock.

She said: “I was carrying several thousand pounds worth of goods, so it was a relief this has taken off."

Post offices struggled to cope with the volume of orders meaning a switch of tact for Geraldo's.

Toni add: "I’ve taken a bit of a hit with postal charges because I’ve now shifted everything to a courier, but at least I know it’s guaranteed to customers within a couple of days.

“It’s remarkable how it’s all changed, my shop floor has been turned into a packing room.”

The shop has recently starting an ice cream delivery service across the North Coast - but the shop remains shut.

She said: “The feedback from people has been fantastic."

The businesswoman says that the response from the community has been fantastic, with local firms such as Mills Milk, Largs Printers and Home Hardware helping with elements of the delivery service.

Toni said: “We’ve picked up a lot more custom from Skelmorlie and West Kilbride, that’s as far as we have delivered to.

“It’s just overwhelming the amount of new customers we’ve picked up and people in Largs seem appreciative of what we’re doing.

“It’s been an amazing response from people thanking us, I’ve had no bad reports and the customers have been incredible.

“I celebrated 20 years in business in this shop at the end of March, but I never thought I would be celebrating like this!”