Retailer Of The Year: Richardsons of Woodthorpe (From York Press)

Retailer Of The Year: Richardsons of Woodthorpe

2:06pm Tuesday 1st December 2009 in

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Was This a victory that proved that the notion of a family butcher competing against the mighty supermarkets was no longer pie-in-the-sky?

For butcher and pie-maker Martin Richardson, who six years ago started Richardsons of Woodthorpe, it is definitely golden pies in the oven – of the winning kind.

The butcher shop-cum-delicatessen in Moorcroft Road earned gold awards last year at York pub the Tap and Spile’s pie tasting competition for its pork pies, and at the British Pig Executive’s North-East competition in Harrogate for its steak pies.

Now it earns the biggest slice of the honours in The Press Retailer Of The Year Awards.

The word is out, because rapidly growing demand meant acquiring premises ten minutes away at Oakdale Business Park to concentrate on his secret-recipe pie production distributed in a refrigerated van.

And Martin and his 11 staff are determined to stay true, using flavoursome traditional pork breeds sourced locally, like saddleback and Gloucestershire Old Spot, and to restore traditional cuts of beef to a whole generation.

Judges were impressed with how this family butchers “clearly understand their market place and customer needs, taking pride in using traditional butchering methods and sourcing meat from local suppliers”.

They also praised the shop for “offering a diverse product range which, in turn, has allowed the business to grow from a traditional butcher to include a delicatessen/sandwich shop”.

And they admired Richardson’s investment in training the staff to deliver “exceptional customer service to ensure they are able to advice customers on the full product range”.

Retailer Of The Year

Winner: Richardsons of Woodthorpe

Finalists: The Balloon Tree Farm Shop and Café and Get Your Frocks Off!