Celebrating a deli good centenary

Celebrating a deli good centenary
Cunningham Butchers & Food Hall - Kilkeel. Pic: James Cunningham.

Neighbourhood Retailer catches up with 2018’s Deli of the Year winner, James Cunningham as Cunningham Butchers & Food Hall prepares to enter its 100th year.

In a few short years, Cunningham Butchers & Food Hall has grown from three staff to 50, added a food hall, deli, and bistro, exceeded sales expectations by over 400 percent, and come out on top in the Deli of the Year category at the Neighbourhood Retailer Awards. With such an inspiring past record of achievements, is there no stopping this County Down butchers?

“We have a business model that shouldn’t work as well as it does,” says owner James Cunningham. “We have a shop in the centre of Kilkeel and a concession in Eurospar stores either end of the town. Growth shouldn’t be this attainable but when we opened the second concession it turned out to be even busier than the first, and our main shop just kept growing; nearly doubling what our highest projection figures were before we did our business plan. You couldn’t write it.”

Many would be foolish enough to describe it as sheer luck, but for a family business that celebrates 100 years of trading next year, the Cunninghams know a thing or two about leading in the market. Now in the capable hands of fourth generation James Cunningham and his brother Christopher, Cunningham Butchers & Food Hall on the main shopping street in Kilkeel is a force to be reckoned with in the industry.

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Taking home the Deli of the Year title at the recent Neighbourhood Retailer Awards was a particular highlight of 2018 for James, who acknowledged that the category shortlist read like a who’s who for the sector.

“I’ll never underestimate how difficult awards are to win,” says James. “Before when we had the old shop if someone had even said we would be nominated I would have bitten their hand off. We are very lucky in how everything has panned out – especially with how well the deli and the bistro have been received. So much work goes in behind the scenes and we don’t compromise because you’re only as good as your last meal. We never rest on our laurels.”

The deli – incorporating a coffee station and ice cream bar – experiences high levels of traffic from when the doors of the store opens at 8.30am right through the lunch time rush.

“The deli has been an unbelievable success,” says James. “There are a number of factors that come together to succeed in deli and the main thing is to get the right staff who will stick to the core values of your business.  When we opened the deli we looked at what we are good at and that is putting out quality produce in the best way we can.

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“We’re lucky the deli is very busy and that is the key to performing well in this area. If a deli isn’t turning over and staying fresh and consistent – that’s when it starts to falter.”

Having just won an award for his deli, James already has plans to replace the deli counter, expanding the hot food offering, and improving customer flow round the display.

“It’s not that I’m a perfectionist,” he laughs. “But I like to have complete confidence in everything I’m doing and the new deli counter will take our already high performing deli to new levels.”

In 2010, at just 23 years old, James joined the family business full-time after completing a Masters in Finance from Queens University Belfast. Christopher followed closely behind, although James states that neither of the brothers were ever pressurised by their parents to take over the helm of the business. In the last eight years, aimed with a solid business plan and a raw passion for the industry, the pair have taken the family trade to dizzying heights, transforming the small butchers shop into a empire.

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In 2014, the young owners purchased the adjoining store and set about a vast expansion project revolutionising the original Cunningham Butchers site into the contemporary food hall and bistro it is today. The building is bright and modern with a state-of-the-art Himalayan Salt Chamber behind the counter.

Since opening the newly refurbished shop in 2016, the Cunninghams have more than doubled their staff and turnover. Despite having a greater work force now than in previous years, James is keen to stress the importance of the family business legacy – a trait that can’t be replicated by larger supermarkets.

“We’re still a small family business and we treat every member of the team with the utmost respect. We aim to give them the confidence to reach their full potential in the business and this translates to our customers who know our staff well,” he says.

A self-confessed ideas machine, James believes the secret to succeeding in any area of the shop is to empower staff and encourage employee led innovation.

“I’m constantly spitting new ideas out, but if you can get your employees to brainstorm and come up with new recipes, that’s when the formula really comes together. Customers don’t want to be looking at the same products or dishes all the time. We have over 1,000 products in our portfolio, 20 of which are award-winning, and that’s what keeps customers interested and coming back for more.”

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As a butcher primarily, all meat sold in the deli, the pre-packaged meal solutions, and the 60-seat bistro comes straight from the butchers’ counter and is of the highest possible quality.  All beef is boned on site giving Cunninghams “full control” over the consistency of the product.

“We rely solely on ourselves to survive,” says James. “When people come into our bistro for a steak dinner, that steak has been reared on our farm, dry aged in our Himalayan Salt Chamber for 28 days that can be seen behind the counter, cut by our master butcher, and cooked in our kitchen by our expert chefs. That’s something that can’t be replicated in the whole of Northern Ireland, never mind our small town.”

When the opportunity to supply the Henderson Group came in 2011 James jumped at the chance to see firsthand how as he puts it “a world-class fresh food operation” works. The relationship quickly flourished and now Cunninghams has concessions in the two Eurospars bookending the fishing town of Kilkeel.

“Hendersons have a model in place where they team up with people like us. They’re very aware that their customers want familiarity and that they trust local brands. That’s where we come in – we have a great story to tell.”

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Showing no signs of slowing down, when Neighbourhood Retailer visits Cunningham’s impressive premises in Kilkeel, the team are in the process of fitting out a cocktail bar that is set to open at the end of the month.

The cocktail bar will be situated within the cosy bistro, which used to be Granny Cunningham’s kitchen. Already topping the list of Trip Advisor’s best County Down restaurants, James is hoping a liquor licence and an eclectic drinks menu will broaden the restaurant’s reach.

And further extending his customer base, 30 minutes away to be exact, is the opening of the second Cunninghams in The Quays Newry. With the same quality, same value, and same excellence service, the sleek black shop front will be the only distinguishing feature from the original Cunningham’s site. This on the back on winning the UK Butchery and Food Hall shop of the Year in London last month.

Taking some of the original Kilkeel staff with him, James hopes that the opening of the new store will mark a new era for Cunninghams in its second century of trading.

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“We’ve been on such a learning curve since 2010. We have tried new things, lots of things have worked but we’ve also made mistakes and learned from them,” he says.

“Now we’ve developed a business model that can be easily transferred when new opportunities arise such as the Henderson concessions and The Quays. We’re lucky to have such a great set up, great staff, and great customers who support us – so we’re just going to keep pushing on as we have been.”

And with another fifth generation Cunningham on the way (James’ wife Donna is expecting their second child in March, the family-run business has much to look forward to.

“We’re hoping that we are putting the building blocks in place for Cunninghams to be part of the retailing landscape for another 100 years,” James concludes.