Celebrating Poundbury Magazine Issue 4: Celebrating Independent Business | Page 70

RETAIL Years of service STORES IN POUNDBURY AND WEYMOUTH A CUT ABOVE THE REST Poundbury artisan butchers, Brace of Butchers has received a double nomination for the prestigious Farm Shop and Deli Awards 2017 T he business, which has been championing fantastic produce straight from the heart of the Dorset countryside since 2014 is in the running for Butcher of the Year and Newcomer of the Year. Tom Amery, who runs the business, was thrilled to discover they had been nominated in two categories for the competition. He said: “To get nominated for two categories is always special and we’re delighted. It’s a great accolade and the staff love it as it has a huge effect on confidence building and inner focus. An industry award is always a great achievement.” The Farm Shop and Deli Awards is now entering its fourth year and recognises the very best standards in speciality retail and to celebrate the highest levels of service, product knowledge, initiative, innovation and community involvement. Tom added: “We opened the shop and built it around customer needs. It was a grass roots concept that has since been emulated elsewhere, but the awards clarify the success we’ve had here.” The final is on the 24 of April and the Chair of Judges is food and drink broadcaster Nigel Barden who works with DJ’s Simon Mayo and Chris Evans on their Sony Gold award winning BBC Radio 2 shows and is also the food correspondent for BBC London. Nigel has previously visited Brace of Butchers and interviewed staff, so he is familiar with the superb butchery and produce. Tom is immensely passionate about what he does and is really proud that Poundbury has been recognised in the nominations. “Poundbury is growing and building over time. It’s an attractive place to shop and spend time. We’ve also got destination customers coming from Poole, Salisbury, Bridport and travelling from quite long distances to the shop.” Since opening, the Brace of Butchers located on Queen Mother Square has scooped many local and national awards. Tom believes that Dorset food and drink businesses should be entering for more awards to help the county achieve the foodie recognition it deserves. “I think Dorset slightly undersells itself. We have the range, diversity, professionalism, uniqueness and innovation here. All those positive factors about the food and drink sector in Dorset are just amazing.” WWW.CELEBRATINGPOUNDBURY.CO.UK 71