SHOP TALK IF I’D KNOWN THEN WHAT I KNOW NOW... ED ARMSTRONG, co-owner, Ginger Butchers, Bakewell, Derbyshire
My brother, Tom, and I – The Ginger Butchers – are the fourth generation of butchers and farmers in the Armstrong family. We’ve been involved for as long as I can remember. As children, we used to stand at the sink and wash trays. But it was in 2010, after we’d both finished studying, that we joined the business. We opened the Bakewell shop to provide an outlet for the native breed meat from our mixed livestock farm in Over Haddon. We have an onfarm bakehouse and butchery where our meat, sausages, pies, pasties and so on are produced. Tom and I joined full of enthusiasm and ambition to grow the business, so when, in 2020, we were offered a farm shop and café in the Denby Pottery Village in Belper, we jumped at the chance. We opened in August 2020 and for the first few months, everything went well. We already had an established customer base in Belper from the farmers’ markets we had been doing for many years, plus the Pottery Village attracts people who are looking for quality products. We had a very busy Christmas period, but then, at the start of 2021, the country went back into lockdown. We stayed open, but with the rest of the outlets closed, business was quiet. We soon found out that staffing a farm shop and a butcher wasn’t going to be easy as there is a shortage of retail butchers. It’s a specialist job and takes a while to train someone up, so I was in the Bakewell shop full-time. We are only a small business (15 staff) and we realised that in spreading ourselves too thin we were in danger of risking our entire business. Last month, we took the difficult decision to close our outlet at Denby to focus on our Bakewell shop and our growing events catering business. The figures have vindicated this decision. At the end of last year, we extended the shop into the unit next door, which allowed us to install display freezers for our ready meals, gluten-free products and game. This also increased the number of display windows from one to three, as we are now occupying a corner unit. Since the extension, turnover has been up by 50%. We are currently in the process of extending yet again and taking a further unit next door that enables us to have a separate deli counter in the shop and offer hot and cold ready-to-eat options. Our foray into a second retail site was shortlived, but it opened our eyes to the potential that still hasn’t been explored in our Bakewell shop. We might look at opening another shop in 18 years when our lads are old enough, but for now, we are sticking with what we’ve got. Interview Lynda Searby Photography Matt Lawrence
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November 2021 | Vol.22 Issue 9
