Appleton’s butchers and pie makers, in Knaresborough has seen a year of growth with more people through its doors, as it sees sales grow beyond expectations.
Store manager Andy Marwood said the number of tourists returning to Knaresborough’s high-street has increased significantly since restrictions eased and confidence is rising at “an encouraging rate”.
Andy Marwood said:
Business has been growing rapidly and gone to a whole new level, confidence is up and the future looks strong.
Appleton’s, which was founded in 1867, also has shops in Wetherby, Boroughbridge and Ripon, and specialises in pork products, including cured ham, sausage rolls and scotch eggs.
It is renowned for its handmade pork pies, favoured by Prince Charles, and makes some 8,000 pies at its Ripon site each week, which are delivered to the other shops in their raw pastry cases to bake on premises
Owners Anthony and Isabel Sterne bought what was formerly Robinson’s Butchers on Knaresborough’s Market Place in 2016, and painstakingly renovated the grade II listed timber-frame building before opening on August 18 last year, in the midst of the global pandemic.
Anthony said:
Knaresborough is a thriving market town, where both residents and tourists bring a real buzz to the centre, and that was a perfect fit with Appleton’s.
Opening during the pandemic may have seemed a little reckless to some, but restoring the former Robinsons shop had been the plan for some years and we were in no doubt of its potential to succeed.
We’ve looked after our customers during these tough times and, one year on from opening, their continued loyalty is now paying dividends.
