FIND OUT WHAT'S ON NEAR YOU WITH OUR NEWSLETTER SIGN UP Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

A young entrepreneur has opened a vegan and gluten free grocery in Eastgate Shopping Centre in memory of his grandad.

Jason Smith, 22, opened 'Jimmy Bean' in Gloucester city centre on November 11 and hopes that his new venture will honour his grandfather who 'tried to live a healthy lifestyle'.

He said: "Unfortunately I lost my Grandad in April and he was a big part of my life.

"His name was Jim - hence the business name - I wanted to do something in order to make who he was live on.

"He was a very keen gardener and enjoyed growing his own fruit and veg and tried to live a healthy lifestyle although he did enjoy his biscuits and cake."

(Image: Mark Watkins)

The store stocks a huge variety of goods such as pies, salads, sausage rolls and pasties - as well as sweet treats like cakes, crisps and chocolate.

Speaking about what opening the store meant to him he said that the new store in the city gave him an opportunity to combat difficulties he has with his mental health.

Jason said: "Apart from opening up Jimmy Bean as a way to remember my Grandad I also decided to create Jimmy Bean for myself.

"I suffer with anxiety and depression and often find that talking to people in general is a massive issue for me and I struggle with confidence.

"So doing something so public gives me no choice but to go outside of my comfort zone and I think that everyone at some point should do just that.

"I think more than anything I’ve always been concerned about failing and not living up to peoples expectations and being judged but at some point I’ve got to pull myself out of that mindset and live for myself and not others."

Although not everything in the store is vegan or gluten free , Jason said that this was the direction he was going in for the city.

(Image: Mark Watkins)

Pointing out there wasn't much for the plant based market in the city he said: "The whole point in heading towards the Vegan market was because there isn’t much for vegans or people that follow a gluten free diet in Gloucester.

"Of course the basics like Nakd Bars are available everywhere but I wanted to do something that Isn’t available elsewhere, which obviously I’m still working on."

Speaking about what he wanted for the future of Jimmy Bean, Jason mentioned that as well as having a huge selection of delicious foods available, he was working towards a plastic free future too.

He said: "I’m working on a different variety of things from salads, pies, sausage rolls, pasties, soup and cake as well as different crisps, chocolate, sweets and as I said before different Nakd and Trek bars.

"As I’m just starting out I do want to limit the use of plastics (if possible use none at all) but this will take time as I search for different suppliers and different ways to keep food fresh.

"I just hope people can bare with me while I figure that part out!"

To read more about shopping in Gloucestershire, click here.