‘Winning this award made all those early starts worthwhile’

WINNERS’ CIRCLE – THE DAILY APRON

As the countdown to the NR 2023 Awards continue, we take a look back to our 2022 winners, who tell us how it felt to win a Neighbourhood Retailer Award and what it means to them, their team and their business.

Rising above the competition, it was an extra sweet win for Lisburn bakery, The Daily Apron, as they scooped the award on the same day they celebrated the first anniversary of the business.

Owners Katrina Collins and Cathy Stevenson were “absolutely thrilled” that their bakery – the first artisan small batch bakery in Lisburn – took home the  Bakery of the Year award.

“As an independent female-owned and female team, we are proud of producing award-winning sourdough by Cathy, who is the co-owner and head baker. She is self-taught. Our motto is ‘cake and kindness’ which is baked into everything we do,” said Katrina.

Described as being “crammed full of delights” by the judges, The Daily Apron’s offerings were “sensational, fresh, innovative and beautifully displayed”.

The judges added that staff were “well informed and enthusiastic, serving the volume of customers with ease and efficiency”.

Speaking after their award win, Katrina said it meant that “all those early starts – especially for Cathy, starting at 2am – were worthwhile”.

“All the individual effort we put in, it’s not mass-produced, we really believe in what we do and we really love what we do,” added Katrina.

“We want to grow people’s interest in real bread and the real product.”