Second helping of glory
JULIE Leaver was sure lightning wouldn’t strike twice, as the saying goes, but for the owners of Edge Hill Butchery, a second major win at the Australian Meat Industry Council awards is something they are proudly hanging their hats on.
The Edge Hill Butchery was named Queensland Retailer of the Year at an event last weekend in Brisbane.
The couple won a similar award when they were owners of another Cairns butchery six years ago.
“No one else has won it twice,” Mrs Leaver said. “Our name came up as a finalist and I said to Rod, ‘lightning doesn’t strike twice’.”
Mr Leaver said beating out the rest of the state competition was proof how passionate the team behind the Collins Ave shop was.
“We try so hard to make this work and stand out from everybody else,” he said.
“There was quite a bit of criteria needing to be judged on. It is very exciting for the north, to have the quality and the shop we have up here.
“They looked at customer service, store presentation, innovation, value-adding to products, community involvement, industry commitment and training and development.
“It is the highest award you could achieve.”
The Leavers also won the best cooked burger category on Saturday night and won a smoker they will use at home.
In August, Mr Leaver also won the gourmet burger category at the state Sausage King Awards at the Ekka in Brisbane while Clifton Beach Butchery’s Mitchell Hammond claimed the top prize for his traditional pork snags.