A BISTRO hit by the Covid-19 lockdown has transformed itself into a pop-up shop and take away.

Mannion & Co in Blake Street is already attracting queues of customers for its popular deli boards - a selection of charcuterie and cheeses - and fresh bread after adapting its business and re-opening.

The eatery, which was previously a greengrocers, is now offering hot and cold food to take away alongside fresh produce and other supplies.

It is one of the growing number of York businesses finding ways to emerge from the lockdown, with restaurants and cafes increasingly turning to deliveries and takeaways in a bid to stay afloat.

Lucy and Andrew Burton took over the property a decade ago from Lucy's parents, Jean and John Mannion, who have continued to run their fruit and veg stall on Shambles Market during the shutdown and are supplying to the pop-up shop.

"We have combined the old business with a pop-up version selling takeaway sandwiches, hot food, coffee and groceries during this Covid lockdown, in essence going back to our roots, mixing old with new," said Lucy.

"We have gorgeous sardines in tins and white tuna in olive oil from Spain, flour, risotto and paella rice, and our deli charcuterie and cheeses. Every day we bake our own bread in house, our own croissants and cakes.

"We are offering a take away sandwich menu and hot meals as well, with all sorts of food to go. The 'big deli board' is something unusual; because of the calibre of our chefs we can take it to a different level. You can have restaurant food to take away."

She added: "We launched two weeks ago and have been really busy. We have had people queueing down the street."

Mannion & Co is open from Thursday to Sunday this week.

"With a bit of luck we will go to five days the week after," said Lucy, who was on holiday with Andrew around the time when lockdown was announced.

"There was nothing we could do about it. It wasn't a relaxing holiday but we took it in our stride. There was nothing we could do. Our hands were tied."

They closed their York and Helmsley deli cafes but decided to re-open the York branch as a step towards recovery.

As a deli-bistro, Mannion & Co offers breakfast, brunch and lunch in 'normal times', and usually operates with a team of six chefs who have previously worked in Michelin-starred venues.

Lucy, who previously ran a beauty salon for 22 years, said they were hoping to open on Saturday evenings in the future.