High Street Spotlight: Owner of Sibleys Butchers, on Kirkgate, Newark, talk about keeping business going in troubling times for high streets

An award-winning family business owner said that he is proud to carry on his family legacy with over 80 years of history despite high street struggles.

Andrew Hind, the owner of Sibleys Butchers on Kirkgate, Newark, has worked in the shop for 50 years, and promises that he is not ready to abandon the town centre yet.

Andrew’s grandfather, W. Pratt, moved to Newark in 1917, and in 1938, he took over the business, which has been in the family ever since, passing from generation to generation.

Being the oldest of four children, Andrew knew he was ‘always destined to come in here’ and when he left Newark Magnus Grammar School in 1975, he joined his uncle and grandfather in the business.

He took over the business in 2005, after his uncle retired.

He said: “I carry my family legacy with a lot of pride.

“There were a lot of small, family businesses in Newark when I first started, and they have all gone by the wayside with supermarkets, traffic issues, parking issues.

“People will not be able to get into Newark [because of these issues], and it is difficult, but there are ways forward.”

With half a century of experience in the company, Andrew admitted that his favourite thing about the business is the interaction with the customers and he believes this is one of the secrets to having kept the business alive for so long.

Having maintained the shop’s original layout throughout the years, the decoration wasn’t the only thing to live through time, as Andrew’s grandfather’s sausage recipe has been maintained over the years and has won several awards.

A few years ago, there was a sausage competition in Newark Market Place with over 60 entrants from a 20-mile radius and the butcher’s won first place in one category and third place in the other.

“We are well-renowned for our sausages, we make them all on our premises, we use local pork, and it is my grandfather’s recipe.

“Gannett’s on Castlegate and Middlebeck and the Castlebarge all use our sausages, and they are local, established businesses that are always busy, so I am very proud to be serving them.”

All the meat and pies in the shop are sourced from independent businesses around the area, which Andrew takes pride in as he believes that by maintaining the same suppliers and having consistency, they can guarantee the quality of the products to their customers.

With many years of ups and downs, some of the highlights of the business for Andrew are Queen Elizabeth II’s Jubilee in 1977 and the millennium, when they decorated the shop with Union Jacks to entice people in.

“It is all about trying to get footfall on the high street, and it is not easy,” Andrew added, “Having been in here for 50 years, I think I know how a market town like Newark works.

“Unfortunately, things are on a downward spiral, not just in Newark, but in the country, and we know that.

“But we've got to try and have glass half full, not glass half empty.”

Over the years, the main thing that has changed in the business owner’s opinion is the number of supermarkets in the town centre, and the fact that they have car parks, leads people away from the town centre.

Andrew added: “Despite all of it, I am extremely proud to still be here, because it is very difficult.

“You have got to know your trade, not try and do or diversify into too many things.

“I came here with my uncle, and I didn’t have any sons, so this will be it when I have had enough, which is not yet.”