It was this dedication to quality products and investment in the business that ultimately secured their Main Street, Limavady store the prestigious accolade of Butcher of the Year at this year’s NR Awards.

Facing stiff competition, including two of their 13 other stores, Garvagh and Coleraine, the Main Street store was praised for its impressive range of top-quality meat and accompanying products, in a well-presented store.

Operations Manager, Declan McAtamney told NR that the staff are absolutely delighted with the award.

“There is a bit of competition amongst all the stores and Limavady have the bragging rights now!” he said.

“We would look at the Main Street store as one of our flagship stores, it showcases everything we envision as a company. It exemplifies the standards, experience, and offerings we want to deliver to our customers.”

“Our Manager, Shane Doherty has been with us for over 15 years, working in different stores before settling in Main St. This win is a testament to him and the very strong team he has built around him.

“It’s great for staff morale too. I was working in the store with them on the Saturday after the awards and there was a fantastic buzz in the shop and customers were coming in to congratulate them, it was great to see.”

McAtamney’s have two stores in Limavady – one on Irish Green Street which opened in 2006, and the Main Street store which opened in 2017. In 2022 the team was delighted when the opportunity to expand at a premises just a few doors down presented itself, allowing for the creation of a larger Main Street store. Standing now at 4500 sq ft, the store proudly boasts one of the largest counters in of all McAtamney stores, allowing for an extensive variety of products.

“The bigger store gives our customers a more comfortable and enjoyable shopping experience,” said Declan.

“We have a dry-age beef cabinet which allows us to showcase our premium cuts of steak, as well as enhancing their flavour and tenderness.

Limavady stocks a varieties of craft cheeses, cooked ham, turkey and beef, as well as offering a large selection of locally sourced products.

“The variety of goods offered at our Main St has been a contributing factor in its success and this is reflected in their growth,” said Declan.

With a larger store, Shane and the team are able to showcase their expert skills each day.

“Shane has worked in a number of our other stores, and brings a wealth of experience and expertise with him,” added Declan.

“We have an experienced deli team who provide delicious, freshly made breakfast and lunch meals ToGo daily, as well as going above and beyond with their customer service. We also provide catering for events which is growing steadily.

“We have our own Gourmet Kitchen facilities in Portglenone, which produces our range of premade dishes and sides – this was introduced to meet our customers changing needs. People want convenience without compromising on quality, this range provides that. We also have our Butcher’s Specials from the butcher’s counter, customers can mix and match three items for £8, anything from filled Taco Boats to stuffed chicken fillets with a variety of sauces.

“These dishes are mainly centred around our meats, rather than whole meals, they can be popped into the oven or airfryer, the preparation is done, customers just have to add their choice of sides, which they can get from our Gourmet Kitchen Range.”

With prices rising across all rising across all sectors, McAtamney’s have reacted by introducing several different measures to help their customers.

“To ease the burden slightly, we have studied what our most popular meats are and we have a bundled them into different packs,” said Declan.

“We have our core packs such as Feed the Family and Fridge Favourites, but we have also been adding in new monthly offers, these are great for meal planning and also to help people to save a little bit extra where they can, especially in the lead up to Christmas.”

YOU CAN SEE THE FULL FEATURE ON MCATAMNEY’S MAIN STREET LIMAVADY IN THE NOVEMBER-DECEMBER ISSUE OF NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER, CLICK HERE

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Trading since May 2016, Balmoral was the third store to open in the Creighton Group.

Owned by Niall Creighton and his sister, Gail Boyd, the company now extends to four sites, with the Balmoral store standing proudly at 6000 sq ft.

Over the last number of years they have grown key parts of their store, with the deli and fresh food now critical components of the business.

Employing some 75 staff across full-time and part-time, General Manager Andrew Porter has been working for the company for over 30 years and has witnessed impressive growth in the business and throughout the industry here.

“The most significant thing I would say is the standards of stores throughout the country, they are all so impressive now,” Andrew told NR.

“There has been a demand and the standard of stores, and retail standards generally, are second-to-none, and that has been a big change over the years.

“The stores here were always ahead, but going back 30 years people didn’t care as much how products were put on the shelves, but now everything has got to be perfect.”

With such high praise for store standards across Northern Ireland, Andrew said they had no expectations of winning the top title at this year’s Neighbourhood Retailer Awards.

“We won Store of the Year Category 3 and were delighted with that. When it came to the Retailer of the Year award, we had absolutely no idea that we were going to win in,” said Andrew.

“We see it as a very prestigious award, and a very hard one to win – there are so many good stores, so we are absolutely delighted.”

Built in a highly residential area, the Creighton Group was limited in the space they had for building the Balmoral store, and as demand for bigger and better deli and hot food products increased, they had to use some creative thinking as to how they could grow the space.

“We couldn’t go up or out, so we had to go down,” said Andrew. Giving NR a tour of their production kitchen, Andrew proudly discusses the quality of the food produced by their dedicated kitchen staff.

“In the last five years, we started off with a small production kitchen in the basement of the business. That started to grow and in the last few years, we have a really good team of staff in there and we are nearly at capacity already in terms of production.”

A testament to the quality of the food and cooking, in the last three years Creightons of Balmoral have won four Great Taste Awards, three for soups and in 2024 they won one for their lasagne.

“That really rubberstamps everything that’s going on in there,” said Andrew.

“We wanted to build a kitchen as we wanted to put fresh food and deli as the main part of our business and it has worked very well for us. It’s very hard work and it was challenging in the early days, but now we’re producing consistently first-class products.

“These are commonly the first parts of business you would get complaints, and happily we rarely get complaints. We’re making more than ever, we’re selling more than ever and everybody seems to be happy.”

YOU CAN SEE THE FULL FEATURE ON CREIGHTONS OF BALMORAL IN THE NOVEMBER-DECEMBER ISSUE OF NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER, CLICK HERE

The post 2024 Retailer of the Year – Creightons of Balmoral first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

In our exclusive 40-page supplement, we look back at the most prestigious night in the Northern Ireland retail industry’s calendar.

It was a night of huge success for South Belfast retailer, Creightons of Balmoral, who were crowned the 2024 Retailer of the Year. They were also named the Neighbourhood Store of the Year (Category 3) winner, marking a thrilling awards night for the store.

It was also a night to remember for well-known County Tyrone retailer, Charlie Hamilton who was honoured with the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award, which he dedicated to his wife and family.

Meanwhile, we look at the frustrations and struggles within community pharmacy in Northern Ireland, as it’s on the precipice of change, following a historic ballot supporting limiting services and reducing hours.

Elsewhere in this issue, we examine when retailers can expect from seasonal shoppers as they prepare to stock up on their favourite festive foods.

READ THESE EXCLUSIVE ARTICLES AND MUCH MORE IN THE NOVEMBER-DECEMBER ISSUE BY CLICKING HERE

The post The NR Awards issue is out now! first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Their reputation was further cemented last month when they took home two top awards at the Neighbourhood Retailer Awards – Food to Go Store of the Year and Forecourt of the Year Category 1.

Marking almost 40 years in the retail industry, John and Donna Moran operate three very successful stores in the Derry~Londonderry area, namely Strand Road, Coleraine and Ballykelly.

And it was their Ballykelly store which secured the Food to Go Store of the Year accolade at the 2024 NR Awards, with Donna and daughter, Eimear on-hand to collect the prestigious award.

Judges praised the store for its fresh, innovative options in the food to go category, adding the variety on offer was exceptional.

Speaking to NR following their win, Donna said the award was a testament to the hard work the entire team puts in every single day and congratulated the Ballykelly team on their well-deserved win.

Another thrilling awards night was held at the Crowne Plaza Belfast, where Northern Ireland’s top names in grocery were in attendance for a night of celebration for the retail industry, hosted once again by Donna Traynor.

You can see more on Moran’s Retail Group’s award wins and all our winners in the NR post-awards supplement in out November-December issue – coming soon!

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Founded over 40 years ago, Dougies Goodies has established itself as the trusted bakery in the north-west, providing the centrepiece for countless birthdays and adding that extra sweetness to special occasions for generations.

Having expanded the business with the opening of their very first Belfast store in late October, the team at Dougies claimed the coveted award at the 2024 NR Awards last month.

Judges praised the stunning array of fresh, innovative baked goods at their Ballymena HQ, stating they were beautifully presented and described the staff as both knowledgeable and enthusiastic.

Another thrilling awards night was held at the Crowne Plaza Belfast, where Northern Ireland’s top names in grocery were in attendance for a night of celebration for the retail industry, hosted once again by Donna Traynor.

Georgina and Frank Warwick from Dougies Goodies were present on the night to collect the award and to celebrate the wonderful success with their team.

You can see more on Dougies Goodies and all our winners in the NR post-awards supplement in the November-December issue – coming soon!

The post Proving they’re the best in the business – Dougies Goodies win Bakery of the Year first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.