Entrepreneur brings fresh flavour to Bridlington Old Town

Lillie Benson, a university graduate from the area, opened the doors to her new business in June 2025, transforming a small café premises into a new takeaway sandwich and salad bar in one of Bridlington’s most characterful locations.

Before opening, Lillie accessed start-up support from East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s business support services team. Support included help reviewing her business plan and financial forecasts, exploring funding options, navigating grant eligibility and attending the ‘Is Starting a Business Right for Me?’ workshop.

The business support programme is funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which is helping new and growing businesses across the East Riding to start, scale and create local jobs.

Lillies Sandwich and Salad Bar serves freshly made sandwiches and salads alongside sweet treats baked on site using home recipes, often created by Lillie during evenings after a full day trading. The business has already exceeded its initial footfall forecasts, attracted excellent customer feedback and created two local jobs, including Lillie herself.

Cllr Anne Handley, East Riding of Yorkshire Council leader, said: “We’re proud to support a business-friendly environment and its fantastic to see young people taking the initiative to start their own businesses here in the East Yorkshire.

“We encourage interested entrepreneurs to contact Invest East Yorkshire to find out more about the support and advice available.”

Invest East Yorkshire offers a wide range of free support for people considering starting a business, including a programme of workshops covering business planning, finance, legal requirements and marketing, as well as access to start-up grants to help with early costs.

More information about support available for those interested in starting a business in the East Riding can be found at www.investeastyorkshire.co.uk