Butchery and local bread in Spar facelift
ONE of Birkdale’s longest established stores has had a major facelift, with well-known local butcher Graham Eyes adding to the offering for customers.
Spar Birkdale has been serving the local community for 54 years and following a full internal refurbishment is now offering a first class butchers counter, a deli serving made to order sandwiches and an array of bakery treats, in addition to a full grocery offering.
There are varying special offers on staple items, as well as loose fruit and vegetables as part of a drive to reduce plastic waste.
With local produce, freshly cut meat from Southport butchers Graham Eyes, and Clayton Park bread and cakes made in Lancashire, the shop on Liverpool Road in the centre of Birkdale Village says that it really is a part of the local community.
Store manager Jonny Wareing said: “We are really proud of our newly refurbished Spar Birkdale.
“Whatever your shopping needs, we have something for you. We look forward to welcoming back our regular customers, as well as new ones, to sample everything we have to offer.”
Spar Birkdale is run by Southport family business James Hall and Co, which was founded in the town in 1863 and is run by the fourth and fifth generation of the Hall family.
One significant addition to the newly refurbished store in the centre of the village is Graham Eyes High Class Butchers, founded in Southport in 1982, and which serves customers inside other Spar stores in our town
including Cambridge Road Churchtown and on Roe Lane.
Julie McAulay, company-owned stores director at James Hall and Co, said: “We are delighted to announce this significant investment in the future of the store, and one that involves another family business steeped in local history.
“Graham has built a reputation for delivering quality meat, award winning speciality sausages and delicious ready meals.
“Clayton Park Deli is supplied by James Hall & Co’s company-owned in bakery, Clayton Park Bakery, and will offer customers a variety of delicious, made-to-order ciabattas, salads, baguettes and wraps, not forgetting a mouth-watering selection of fresh cream cakes for tea time treats.
“We are thrilled to be able to offer Spar customers the option of purchasing meat from a local butcher alongside a range of delicious, fresh, food to go options, and freshly ground coffee beans from Cheeky Coffee, alongside a full store offering of fresh food, produce, groceries and beers, wines and spirits.”
In the fresh produce section there is an emphasis on locally sourced vegetables with potatoes from farms in Ormskirk and cabbages and cauliflower from nearby Hesketh Bank.
Wilf Whittle, produce buyer for James Hall and Co, said: “We want to offer our customers the very best of local produce where possible and in some cases we have been able to get produce from the farm to our store in 24 hours.
“The majority of our fruit and vegetables are being served loose and we hope this will really appeal to our customers and demonstrate our commitment to reducing plastic waste.”
If you pick up a sandwich while you are in store, you could be helping charity too. James Hall and Co recently celebrated a huge charity milestone, having donated half a million pounds to charity since 2011, solely through sandwich sales.
Producing its own range of Spar branded sandwiches, these products automatically generate a donation when sold instore.
Two charities have benefited since beginning the initiative, the NSPCC and Marie Curie, which became Spar’s national charity in March 2017.