Anyone who walks into the foyer of the beautiful new Craig’s Costcutter at Crescent Link in the Waterside will immediately be struck by the spectacular lobby space with its tractor centrepiece.

So popular has it been that many children – and even some adults – have been coming along to take selfies beside the machine.

But what they may not realise is that the tractor – and the shop itself – is a tribute to the man who dreamed up the plans for the eye-catching forecourt.

Andrew Craig says the family started planning the store around six years ago when his late father David was still alive, and he and his siblings Allison, Suzanne, David and Steven, and mother Corinne carried on with the plan after his death.

“Our father started planning it and then he passed away in November 2017. We had the land at that point and we were building the shop, but we’ve slightly changed the design of the shop a bit,” Andrew says.

Tractor centrepiece

“The first tractor my father bought was that Ford 4000. We were doing it up when he was living – he was looking it done up – and then when he passed it was nowhere near finished.

“So then we decided to do it up and do something with it in the shop. I was thinking of maybe putting it outside or whatever, maybe with glass round it, but then the architects came up with the idea of putting it inside the shop.

“So we sent her away and got her fully done up, rather than just sitting in a shed, and we just put it on there.

“The architect had said you could put it there at the deli and make a queue right round it, with the impact as you go into the shop. It’s sitting up on a wee plinth, just as you come in – it’s straight in front of you and then the deli is wrapped around it.

“We’ve had ones taking photos of themselves, sitting on top of it and climbing all around it!”

Family history

The late David Craig was originally a farmer, but in the late 1980s he started selling some potatoes and fruit at the end of his lane, before moving the operation into a Portakabin.

Andrew takes up the story of how his dad made the decision to embark on a career in retail: “There was a boy selling at the end of the lane where my father would have turned in with tractors and trailers, and he said to him ‘Look, you wouldn’t mind going over to the layby at the other side of the road as we’ve big tractors and trailers to get in here’. But he was for staying, so that’s why my father started selling fruit and veg right beside him!

“At the start, it was mainly spuds, and then it was spuds and strawberries from the cart. And then he went into a wee Portakabin – the majority of it was spuds and anything my father grew, and then we were just getting some veg in, and added eggs and it just grew from there and he started selling coal..

“We’re actually a fuel business now and we deliver coal and oil to people’s houses.”

Evolving store

The first bricks and mortar shop was built in the early 1990s, and then its successor was built on the current site in 2008, Andrew says.

“When we started off, fruit and veg were the main things that we sold, and then fuel. When the new shop opened in 2008, that was the first time we had a deli. That shop was a third of the size of the current one, so probably 150 or 160 square metres,” he says.

“It was the standard things – chicken curry and chips, stews, lasagnes, sandwiches, sausage rolls, fries. It was a good size of a deli and they were making all of their own food from scratch.

“I remember my father asking me about putting a deli in when we were out and about, and I said if you go in the shops now, that’s what you’re starting to see.

“We were selling definitely a lot more sweets then and confectionery and that sort of side of the shop in 2008. The difference from that shop to this shop – it’s now three times the scale, and we’ve an off licence which we started a year and a half before we finished that shop. Then in the new shop as well, we have a new petrol station.”

New build

Building the new shop involved a fair bit of disruption. The old shop sat on what is now the car park, so the new shop was built behind it and the old shop was ultimately demolished to create that parking space.

The Crescent Link where the shop sits is now a dual carriageway and attracts a lot of passing trade, but was a single carriageway up until 2006/7.

Andrew says: “It comes off the Foyle Bridge and it would take you up to Altnaglevin then heading to Belfast. There are a lot of houses around it too, we’re right on the outskirts of Kilfennan, and 200-300 houses have been built nearly right beside us now on the other side of that dual carriageway.

“So we’re both types of site, if you know what I mean. We get a lot of regulars but you also get a lot of ones who are passing and just call in.

“My father always said we were green to it when we built that other shop and we just didn’t build it big enough – it wasn’t fit for purpose for the site and the traffic we had and the houses we had around it.

“So once we built it, we were trying to get the land behind us to build a new shop. We just wanted a bigger shop and we were trying to go for a petrol station as well and just got a good architect to design it and went on from there.”

Lockdown launch

The new 500 square metre shop opened on St Patrick’s Day last year when the lockdown was still in place.

“It’s your standard shop, deli, off licence, big fruit and veg section, all your standard confectioneries, wee post office in the corner, a wee ice cream counter,” Andrew says.

“We’re actually making our own ice cream now too called Daisy Moos, that was just done for that shop. There’s a bigger range of deli food.

“When we opened, there was a lot of interest – there were queues outside the door and we had to have someone on the door nearly steady. Basically the first few weeks were just crazy – everybody wanted out of the house to look at something!

“It was tricky for everybody, you just had to keep on putting people on the door.”

Pandemic restrictions

At the time the shop was dealing with the pandemic restrictions and offering deliveries to its most vulnerable customers.

“We had only opened that shop and it was probably 9-10 months after the pandemic started, so there was a month when we were completely closed,” Andrew says.

On the forecourt itself are two double pumps selling petrol, diesel and kerosene.

“We don’t sell any Ad Blue at the minute, but we’ll probably get a stand on site. We haven’t actually got that sorted yet, we’re just trying to get everything sorted at the minute,” Andrew says.

“There are two car washes at the back – just a pull up self service, the power hose and the foam brush.”

As with many forecourts at the moment, there were a few comments from customers about the rising fuel prices but it wasn’t too bad, he says.

“Everybody knows it’s just the way it is at the moment – there’s just nothing we can do. It nearly hit the £2 a litre mark … Especially when kerosene got dear – when it starts hitting near a £1 a litre for heating someone’s home, it’s not easy.”

Stunning design

Most of the interior and exterior forecourt design was carried out by Ashley Lamont of Whittaker + Watt and Andrew is full of praise for the new look he has devised.

“It’s very open, glass fronted floor to ceiling, very light and airy. When you’re inside it’s very nice, with lots of space even in between rows of shelves. The difference between that and our old shop is night and day,” he says.

“We would have had a lot of regulars anyway but there’s a lot of people coming in who really  love the shop. It’s hard to explain the difference between old and new but there’s a lot more space and it’s all just a lot easier.

“The old shop was slightly further up, but you’d see the new shop from the road a lot quicker, especially at night time with the lights on.”

Innovative approach

Ashley says the Craig family had originally decided upon a small extension to their existing store, but when he first saw the site it was clear that there was considerable space available at the rear.

“Most of the difficulty with retail refurbishments is trying to extend or renovate while trying to keep the business trading, because nobody wants to lose the sales due to their refurbishment work,” he says.

“In this case we actually built a brand new store at the back of the site. We had originally engaged with David Craig who unfortunately during the early design stages passed away and we worked with his sons and daughters to further develop the scheme.

“Craig’s Costcutter is a modern store with a dual carriageway setting in which you need to attract the passing customer’s attention within seven seconds.. So the facade had to be taller, it had to have more glass and more LED lighting to try and create a better thinking time, so the traffic could slow down and pull into the site.  That was a technique that was used on the outside.”

Ashley is proud of the unusual lobby with its tractor centrepiece, saying it actually became a good footfall driver for the new business.

“It was a nice nod to the original family members and a nice gesture for the new building,” he says.

To read the full feature in Neighbourhood Retailer, click HERE.

The post Labour of love: the stunning new look of Craig’s Costcutter first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Millar’s Meats has been a fixture on Irvinestown’s main street for 18 years now, but for a long time butcher Stephen MIllar has been on the look-out for larger premises that would allow him to stock a much wider range.

He finally found the perfect location when the historic Ulster Bank building across the street came up for sale.

“I had been looking and looking, and then the former Ulster Bank came up for auction – and I knew that was the one I wanted,” Stephen says.

“I purchased and made the decision to start the work on it literally as Covid was kicking in – so that delayed the whole process by a lot. And when you purchase an old building you probably don’t realise the amount of problems you’re going to encounter as well.

“At times it felt as if we were never going to get there, but we did and we opened this summer. There are still bits and pieces to do but we’re delighted with it and the feedback from people has been amazing.

“A lot of people in the town have been very nostalgic about it and they’re glad to see the old building being used again.”

Farming background

Now aged 41, Stephen grew up on a beef farm in Newtownstewart, Co Tyrone, but realised early on that there wasn’t going to be a living for both him and his dad. He had already completed a one-year agricultural course at Cafre’s Enniskillen campus, but decided to change tack and go into butchery, completing a course at Portadown college.

“I would have worked in a couple of butcher’s shops as an apprentice learning the trade and then went to Cafre Loughry campus to do a HND in supply management – that gave me all the management background for retail,” Stephen explains.

“I  took a job as a butchery manager at a supermarket and then got the opportunity to open my own shop in Irvinestown 18 years ago.

“When I first started it was as a basic raw meat butcher – sausages, burgers, all that kind of stuff. But over the years I developed my own twist and tweak on many products and have a reputation for having a great range of products.

Competitive element

“I also entered a lot of butchery competitions, and over the years I won quite a few of those competitions for my burgers and sausages, including the steak element of the European Aberdeen Angus steak competition. So all that increased my knowledge.

“I think my farming background definitely contributed to the success of the business too – bringing our own animals through the shop, buying animals at the local mart, buying animals from even some of the customers as well.

“I would also have had people from the Newtownstewart area supplying me as well and I have loyal customers there that have always purchased from me. We have established that every Thursday is delivery day to Newtownstewart – we have a van who delivers there.

“So it started off as your very basic butchers, but over the years it developed and we started to do the Heat To Eat range which has expanded in recent years as people require convenient good quality food.

World champions

Stephen puts part of his success down to the knowledge he gained as a member of the winning Team Ireland that triumphed at the World Butcher Challenge in 2019.

“It was held at Titanic Belfast with butchers’ teams from all over the world and Team Ireland won.

“We put in a good two years, practically, training at that – the side of a cow, a pig, a lamb and chickens – and we had so many hours to prepare a table. It was an amazing event.

“Technically, we’re still the reigning champions, although it’s kicking off in Sacramento this September. That experience has been invaluable and it took things to a different level.”

Great Taste Awards

He’s also achieved a long list of wins in the Great Taste Awards over the years and received news of winning three awards in the latest Great Taste Awards just a week after launching the new shop in the bank building.

“I got two stars for fillet steak on the bone and one star for fillet steak and my ribeye burger . The results came out a week after I opened the new shop so the timing couldn’t have been better!”

The renovation of the building proved challenging, taking more than two years, but the results are spectacular.

“One of the first things was getting rid of the safes. There were two safe rooms and we needed machinery to lift them out, they were so heavy,” Stephen says.

“There’s a lovely safe at the front where people would have lodged money into the night safe. So we kept it as a feature and everybody notices it.

“Because we were going from an office to a retail space, everything had to be Building Control compliant, so there was a huge amount of work there, and then conforming with disability legislation as well – there were a lot of hoops to go through.”

Heritage building

Well known local historian Briege McCusker sourced a photo of how the main street in Irvinestown looked years ago.

“We managed to put it on the side of a chill, so whatever way it looks, it looks as if it’s 3D and as if youre looking down into the street in Irvinestown years ago,” Stephen says.

“The first couple of days it opened I couldn’t believe people’s response to it – particularly for older people in the town, it was really nostalgic.”

Stephen describes the look of the interior as traditional with a modern twist.

“Everything is white and grey and then the ceiling is a darker colour with really bright lights. One of the main features is the beautiful terrazzo floor and I have to say the amount of comments we’ve had on it is amazing.

“It’s kind of white but it’s brought in coppers and greys, so we haven‘t gone with any real colours as such – I just wanted to keep it black and white and grey with a splash of gold in the floor.”

History of banking

There are even plans for a memorabilia wall reflecting the history of the building – and featuring some of the Henri Hippo merchandise that many customers fondly remember.

Stephen says he is delighted with the space he has now and how much it will widen the scope of the business.

“The space is amazing. Before, we could only keep very limited bits of bakery items, whereas now we can have the full range of the local suppliers. We have Mallard Bakes, we have another guy who’s an artisan baker, Joe from Enniskillen who does sourdough,” he says.

“In addition we’ve now got the hot food and the cold food to take out, we didn’t have that before so we’re doing breakfasts from 8.30am and dinner from 11.30am – I have to say the dinners are going really well.

“And there’s a cold food counter doing toasties and that sort of thing. We can heat them up for you or you can bring them home yourself and heat them up in the evening.

Local provenance

“We’re also able to keep food-oriented gifts like shortbread. We’ve got Eringrove, who do the jams and chutneys down round Fermanagh, we have eggs from Sydare Eggs, we have Ballylisk cheese which is going down really well – and we’re hoping to just expand the cheese provision a bit further.

“The business is called Millar Meats and Fine Foods – we are stocking a full range of wonderful fine foods to enhance any dinner table offering.

“Another idea that we’re going to have in store, I hope, is for local businesses to come in once a month and do a pop-up shop. It may be just someone who’s starting out locally and wants to tell people about their product. We’re not charging them for it, just saying keep the staff supplied with buns! If they bring in customers, it’s a win-win situation hopefully for both.

“We’ve a full range of minerals, crisps, etc and our coffee machine – we went with a brand called Smokin Bean which is ethically oriented and promotes sustainability.”

Pandemic challenges

Not only was Stephen embroiled in the renovation of the building over the last couple of years but he also had to face all the challenges of the pandemic.

“We implemented closing the doors and only letting two customers in at one time, we were quick to put the perspex screens up and they stayed up until we moved shop. We had arrows on the floor and PPE for the staff and so on,” he says.

“Another thing was doing a local delivery service to folk, initially to  those who were shielding or those that were isolating, but very quickly there were two vans on the road at the time. “My brother helped out as well and my mum and sister-in-law –  they actually looked forward to their Tuesday delivery because it was an excuse to get out of the house and working.

“Nobody was really going to the supermarkets at that stage and people weren’t really going to Enniskillen – they were buying their food in Irvinestown.

“To meet the market and make it easier for people, we devised £25 or £50 meat packs – when people were ordering it was easier to order than saying ‘I need mince, I need burgers’, whereas these meat packs were just designed to make it easier for people.

Making life easier

“That’s what it’s all about now – making it easier for people – and that’s one of the elements of the business, all these meal solutions for people.

“Not just mince but meatballs in a sauce, or  not just a chicken fillet, but doing chicken in a Bushmills sauce or a mushroom sauce and putting it in a tin tray so that all a person has to do is put it in the oven and you still feel you’re cooking.

“We do a lot about it on social media, Facebook, Instagram and even TikTok – we know the branding is so important.

“We got a lovely photo and message on Instagram on Saturday evening from a visitor to the town saying that tehy had just had their best steak ever.”

Stephen has thanked the existing staff and the new staff who have come on board.

And he points out that the meat element is still a pivotal part of the business.

“Ultimately the core thing is still going to be the meat and we pride ourselves on the steaks and the dry ageing process,” he says.

To read the full feature in Neighbourhood Retailer magazine, click HERE.

The post Saving your bacon: Millar’s Meats unveils stunning new premises in former bank first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

The new 500 square metre shop, built to the rear of the older store,  opened on St Patrick’s Day last year when the lockdown was still in place.

“When we opened, there was a lot of interest – there were queues outside the door and we had to have someone on the door nearly steady. Basically the first few weeks were just crazy – everybody wanted out of the house to look at something!” Andrew Craig says.

“It was tricky for everybody, you just had to keep on putting people on the door.”

At the time the shop was dealing with the pandemic restrictions and offering deliveries to its most vulnerable customers.

“We had only opened that shop and it was probably 9-10 months after the pandemic started, so there was a month when we were completely closed,” Andrew says.

“It’s your standard shop, deli, off licence, big fruit and veg section, all your standard confectioneries, wee post office in the corner, a wee ice cream counter.

“We’re actually making our own ice cream now too called Daisy Moos, that was just done for that shop. There’s a bigger range of deli food.”

On the forecourt itself are two double pumps selling petrol, diesel and kerosene.

“We don’t sell any Ad Blue at the minute, but we’ll probably get a stand on site. We haven’t actually got that sorted yet, we’re just trying to get everything sorted at the minute,” Andrew says.

“There are two car washes at the back – just a pull up self service, the power hose and the foam brush.”

To read the full feature, watch out for the next edition of Neighbourhood Retailer.

The post Customers queued out the door to see launch of revamped Craig’s Costcutter first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Butcher Stephen Millar says he had been looking for larger premises for a long time, but found the perfect location when the historic Ulster Bank building across the street in Irvinestown came up for sale.

“I had been looking and looking, and then the former Ulster Bank came up for auction – and I knew that was the one I wanted,” Stephen says.

“I purchased and made the decision to start the work on it literally as Covid was kicking in – so that delayed the whole process by a lot. And when you purchase an old building you probably don’t realise the amount of problems you’re going to encounter as well.

“At times it felt as if we were never going to get there, but we did and we opened this summer. There are still bits and pieces to do but we’re delighted with it and the feedback from people has been amazing.

“A lot of people in the town have been very nostalgic about it and they’re glad to see the old building being used again.”

The renovation of the building proved challenging, taking more than two years, but the results are spectacular.

“One of the first things was getting rid of the safes. There were two safe rooms and we needed machinery to lift them out, they were so heavy,” Stephen says.

“There’s a lovely safe at the front where people would have lodged money into the night safe. So we kept it as a feature and everybody notices it.

“Because we were going from an office to a retail space, everything had to be Building Control compliant, so there was a huge amount of work there, and then conforming with disability legislation as well – there were a lot of hoops to go through.”

Well known local historian Briege McCusker sourced a photo of how the main street in Irvinestown looked years ago.

“We managed to put it on the side of a chill, so whatever way it looks, it looks as if it’s 3D and as if youre looking down into the street in Irvinestown years ago,” Stephen says.

“The first couple of days it opened I couldn’t believe people’s response to it – particularly for older people in the town, it was really nostalgic.”

Stephen describes the look of the interior as traditional with a modern twist.

“Everything is white and grey and then the ceiling is a darker colour with really bright lights. One of the main features is the beautiful terrazzo floor and I have to say the amount of comments we’ve had on it is amazing.

“It’s kind of white but it’s brought in coppers and greys, so we haven‘t gone with any real colours as such – I just wanted to keep it black and white and grey with a splash of gold in the floor.”

There are even plans for a memorabilia wall reflecting the history of the building – and featuring some of the Henri Hippo merchandise that many Ulster Bank customers fondly remember.

To read the full feature, watch out for our next issue of Neighbourhood Retailer.

The post Former bank wins new lease of life as butcher’s shop first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

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