Colin Sweeney, chief executive of the Weston Park Foundation, the charitable trust that owns and maintains Weston Park outlines, the exciting project.
“In 2012 we closed our Butchery in the farm shop and introduced a Deli Counter in its place which proved to be hugely popular with our customers. This led to a re-think of the product offering and we decided to make this the focus of the shop going forward.
"We undertook detailed market and consumer research to identify and respond to customers needs and to help us with the journey we engaged the services of Iain Hemming, a retail consultant who has 25 years experience in the food retail industry and owns a successful Deli and Bistro, Thyme and Tides, in Hampshire.
“Iain was able to ascertain areas in which we could improve the product offering and gave advice on introducing new retail lines that offer quality convenience to the shopper. The result is that we now have cafe style seating that can cater for up to 24 customers to enjoy a relaxed breakfast reading the papers, catch up with friends and colleagues over barista brewed coffee and homemade cake or enjoy a light bite from the deli menu.”
In addition to this eat-in offering, the Deli features over 20 local, national and international cheeses; cured meats, olives, dips, nibbles and homemade treats from our own kitchen team, headed up Weston’s award winning head chef Guy Day. On the shelves shoppers will find sauces, dressings, oils, biscuits, grissini, dried pasta, local beers, wine, condiments, desserts and prepared meals sourced from internationally recognised suppliers.
Next door, the Granary Grill continues to serve up lunch and dinner using the region’s finest seasonal produce to create home cooked dishes.
Sweeney concluded: “Our aim has been to create a wonderful relaxed environment in the Granary to enjoy fabulous food and drink whatever the occasion. Whether it be popping into the Deli for a coffee or bacon sandwich, relaxing over lunch and glass of wine with friends in the Grill or picking up something quick and easy for supper.”