Ramsgate butcher shop Taylor Meats will be celebrating its 10th anniversary this May – and boss Scott Taylor is carrying out a major refit in the run up to the landmark day.
Scott, who has been in the meat trade for all his working life, also has a shop in Herne Bay which he opened 14 years ago, with 12 staff across both locations. The business is family run with wife Mandy and younger son Tommy, 19, both involved.
The dad-of-two says the aim is to move away from a ‘supermarket’ feel and back to a traditional butcher’s setting.
Scott, 52, said: “It is really exciting. We are going to rip it all out and change the concept completely.
“There will be new, low energy refrigeration throughout and a new shop layout. We will be bringing in new lines and working practices that will really please our customers.”
The multi-deck ‘shelving’ will be removed and a large fridge will be taken out so a bespoke cold store area can be created. There will also be a new celling and flooring.
Scott added: “A massive thing is packaging, not being environmentally friendly has to change, In Herne Bay we started zero packaging, everything is in paper and the customers love it. So, there will be no carrier bags, only paper bags.
“The shop will have a new lay out and we will offer a variety of different products.
“The industry has changed so much and customers are changing. Our customers six or seven years ago were feeding a family of four but now there are new families coming through with different expectations.”
The Herne Bay premises underwent a refit some 14 months ago and the same, successful layout will be used in Ramsgate.
Scott says he jumped at the chance to invest in the Harbour Street site a decade ago and could see Ramsgate’s potential to grow.
He said: “I’m from Essex originally but I believe in this area and I love it.
“I was lucky to get the opportunity to invest in Ramsgate 10 years ago. I always knew there was a bigger plan for the town, it’s lovely and it is a massive asset, I knew it was only going to go one way -up – and I have been proven right,”
Refit work is expected to start from April 6 and Scott says it will be done in a piecemeal fashion as he is determined to stay open, apart from a one day closure when the new refrigeration arrives.
He said: “It will mean our many loyal customers will see the changes as they are being made. Watch this space, it is going to be fantastic.”
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