‘People send me photos of our beach balls from all over the world. From Australia, Kenya, Benidorm, at the cricket, the football,
everywhere. I give them away every summertime with our logo on them, and my customers love them,’

Vas Vekaria tells me from his shop, KegsNBlades in Bolton. ‘I’ve got people with my shop’s name on it quite literally all over the world now.’ That’s quite the brand loyalty, but then, for Vas, the shop is more than a business. It’s a hobby, it’s a community.

‘I genuinely get up and I love working in the shop. I’ll come down every day and I’m 100 per cent motivated, even at 6am with a delivery coming in. I look forward to the challenge, I look forward to new things to do.’
Vas, it seems clear, never stands still. There’s a new walk-in chiller for cold kegs, always new merchandise – KegsNBlades football shirts, Christmas goody bags, those beach balls – and on any given day he might have a new offer to promote, or a new keg launch.

‘I’ve got regular customers from eight years ago when I started selling PerfectDraft kegs. I’ve had brain surgeons, Coronation Street actors. Three or four years ago, on Friday afternoons, we had a group of young teenagers standing outside the shop just to see all the supercars pull up.’
Vas Vekaria is a pivotal member of the PerfectDraft community in the north west. His shop, KegsNBlades in Bolton, was one of the first to get a PerfectDraft trade account more than eight years ago, and he now sees the shop’s branding across the world.

Find your local community store Scan the QR code to visit the PerfectDraft community store directory. KegNBlades emerged when he bought his parents’ mini supermarket, which they’d had since 1984. They retired 15 years ago, after which Vas was running it. He owned a PerfectDraft machine, then eight years ago a customer from Liverpool suggested he stock the kegs. ‘That’s when my journey started, so I started buying them online and selling them in the store, and it just sort of boomed from there.’

At first he was buying the kegs directly from Beer Hawk, hunting for voucher codes to bring the price down. Then he got a trade account, and has never looked back.

‘Four years ago, I did a full shop refit from top to bottom. I took everything out, bought everything brand new, and now it’s just a modern, clean, sleek-looking store.’

And what did Dad think? ‘My dad is old school. He wouldn’t say “I’m proud of you” in front of me, but he tells all his friends how proud he is.’

His superlative customer service is why people keep coming back. ‘At Christmas, people bring gifts for us and I always do a branded goodie bag every year for the customers.’

‘I’ve got three fantastic girls who work for me and they really do enjoy working here, especially when it’s Christmas. The month leading up to it is manic. We’ve all made such good friends with the keg customers.’

The customers always ask him for advice, too. With two machines always on the go in his home bar, he knows the beers very well.

‘I always give my honest opinion on whether I don’t like it or I do like it. Customers appreciate that. Hertog Jan is a gem, but no one would ever try that unless a certain product was out of stock. I get them to try it and even say, “If you don’t like it, bring it back for a full refund”. I’ve never had one back.’ In terms of other beers he recommends, the Oktoberfest beers (of course) and the original Spaten are also high on his list.

More than anything, he has a clear passion for KegsNBlades and the community around it. ‘It’s pure love for KegsNBlades. I do really enjoy trying to take it forward.’

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