PENLEIGH Farm Traditional Butchers has been named the South West Champion in the butcher category in the Countryside Alliance Awards.
The family-run butchers on Stony Street only opened its door in October last year but already has become a much-loved shop on the high street, selling high quality, fresh local meat and produce.
Owen Singer who runs the butchers said, “We were in shock when we found out that we had won – it took a while for it to sink in.
“We’re very proud because it’s been an emotional journey opening up the shop. We did have a concessions shop in the Co-op in the town which was good, but we didn’t have our own identity and gradually the footfall was dropping, so we made the decision to open our own butchers. We knew we had a great product and with the support of family and friends we thought we would give it a go. It was difficult, the banks weren’t supportive and it took a long time to get the premises sorted, but as soon as we opened the doors we were busy.
“We feel immensely proud of what we’ve achieved, especially when you hear the lovely comments from the customers. I think people are pleased to see a traditional butchers back on the high street.”
The awards, also known as the Rural Oscars, celebrate rural produce, skills, enterprise and heritage of small hard-working businesses in Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire. The winners of each category are entered into the British finals which take place in London on March 22nd.
Owen continued, “We had heard about the awards but we never thought we would be contenders, especially so soon after opening.
“It was one of our customers who nominated us; still to this day we don’t know who it was, but we’re very grateful. The voting was open from March 2016 to November 11th 2016 but because we only opened in October and only found out that we had been nominated in early November, we had just a week to get any votes! But through a campaign on social media and friends and family spreading the news, we managed to get enough votes in just a week to get through the first round.
“We went through a selection process and had to fill in a questionnaire and the judges must have been impressed because we made it to the final five and from there, we were visited by a judge.
“We didn’t expect to win, we were just proud to have got into the final five. The quality of the competition was very high and we were the new butchers on the block – so when a big envelope came through the door which contained the certificate and plaque, I couldn’t believe it. I tried to call my wife straight away but she didn’t answer, so I called my mum who went straight to my house to tell her the great news. We’ve been on cloud nine ever since!”
Judge Liam Stokes said, “Penleigh Farm and Butchers only opened last October, but has already been taken into the heart of the Frome community. People in Frome care about ethical, local produce, and it was clear there was nowhere else that Owen Singer wanted to open his unique butchers.
“Not only does Penleigh serve up extensively-reared pork and lamb personally farmed by Owen a mere seven miles away, but Owen also gives shelf space to other local products that otherwise only come to Frome once a month for the Independent Market.
“Owen had been selling his meat from the butchery counter inside the local Coop, and it took real courage to take the leap from there to opening Penleigh Farm and Butchers. The gamble has paid off not only for the Singer family, but for the whole local community.”
Owen continued, “The award is recognition of the hard work we all put into making our shop a success. We are so grateful to all our customers who have supported us over the last few months and to those who voted for us.
“We’ll be travelling up to London next week for the British finals, and who knows – we could win that too!”
