A FAMILY firm has overcome adversity to become one of Huddersfield’s most successful small businesses.
Hinchliffe’s can genuinely claim to have made history – when it became one of the UK’s first ever farm shops in 1974.
Allen Hinchliffe set up the original butchery business in 1929 and since then four generations of the family have been equally committed to the cause.
From humble beginnings, the company has expanded to include a shop selling not only meat but also seasonal fruit and vegetables, home-cooked pies and pasties.
Hinchliffe’s has won numerous awards for its food products, including lifting the top prize at the Pork Pie Appreciation Society no less than six times. Its most recent accolade was from the Great Taste Awards 2011.
A recent addition to the business include an adjoining restaurant, which has become a popular destination for local people and visitors to West Yorkshire.
The business has always had a keen business strategy – carefully pricing its meat to compare favourably with prices in major supermarkets and highlighting the opportunity to buy high-quality, locally-reared or locally-grown produce.
In early summer, 2010, the future was looking extremely bright for the firm. Then in July, a huge fire tore through the farm shop complex. The family could only stand and watch as everything they had worked to achieve over four generations went up in flames while firefighters struggled to control the blaze.
General manager Simon Hirst said: “For many people, this would have been the end of the road – a setback from which recovery might have been impossible. But showing true Yorkshire grit, the family lost no time in getting back up and running – led by the indomitable 87-year-old Charles Hinchliffe, who is still a vital part of the business.
“Within months, we were selling eggs and vegetables from the back of a trailer on site and just a couple of months later we were once again selling fresh meat and serving hot food in a huge marquee.
“Loyal staff and customers continued to support the business throughout difficult times, which was a great comfort to the family.”
At the moment, the business is operating from a rigid temporary structure on the farm, which houses a large shop and a new restaurant.
Fortunately, one item saved from the flames was the Hinchliffe’s “Butcher’s Bible” containing all the invaluable secret recipes for the firm’s famous pies and meat products. And in May this year, Hinchliffe’s held a family open day to mark the official return to “business as usual”.
Mr Hirst said the fire had given Hinchliffe’s a chance to reassess its business objectives and redesign everything from scratch. New initiatives to raise extra revenue include clay pigeon shooting and steak pie dinners; heavy horse experience days; an outside catering service and services aimed specifically at walkers.
Said Mr Hirst: “After what has been a life-changing year, exciting times now lie ahead for Hinchliffe’s.”
