Terrific lockdown effort gets deli on awards list
Provender Brown Delicatessen in Perth has reached the shortlist of the 2021 Farm Shop and Deli Awards.
Representing Scotland, The George Street shop was nominated by customers from across Perthshire and the wider UK – with one nomination coming all the way from New Zealand.
The retailer was praised by dozens of customers for its excellent service and COVID-19 procedures.
Many also noted how it supplied essential goods to people who were shielding.
One customers said:“They kept me reasonably sane during lockdown!”
Diane Brown, owner of Provender Brown, said:“It really has been a whirlwind of a year.
“We made the decision quite quickly to stay open in March, and this led to us changing processes almost daily in April.
“By May we had introduced a local delivery service and were offering a much wider online selection to help our customers who were shielding.
“In fact, our nomination from
New Zealand was from a lovely lady who contacted us with a request to deliver to her parents.”
The shop rehauled its online offering in the late summer and by Christmas was sending out over 80 hampers a day, with orders coming in from all over Europe.
Diane added:“It has been an incredibly tough year, but it has also been a year that forced us to rethink how we best serve our customers and that can never be a bad thing.
“To be shortlisted in these prestigious awards is testament to hard work and dedication of the whole team and I am grateful to everyone who took the time to nominate us.”
The awards are celebrating specialist retailers from across the UK“in recognition for their courageous commitment shown to their customers, community, staff and suppliers,”during lockdown.
The shortlist is now being evaluated by an expert judging panel lead by broadcaster and journalist Nigel Barden.
The winners will be announced on July 5.