A secret butchers shop with £2m worth of meat has opened to the public for the first time.
Birtwistles Catering Butchers in Irlam, Greater Manchester, normally supplies hotels and restaurants such as the Hilton, Radisson, The Alchemist, Gusto, The Botanist and Tampopo.
Like many suppliers, the family-run business saw its main source of income cut off when the country went into lockdown.
With stock worth £2m available, they have now opened the shop to the public, selling restaurant-quality meat at prices they say are 30 per cent lower than in supermarkets.
Managing director Glenn Eastwood told the Manchester Evening News : “We’re a family-run business and we’ve been going for over 100 years.
"We’ve never sold to the public before because we’ve been too busy supplying hotels and restaurants.
“We’ve got £2m of stock and we thought what do we do with it? So we’ve set up the shop.”
The shop stocks everything from steaks, chicken fillets and roasting joints of beef, pork and lamb to sausages, burgers and meatballs made in house.
Bundles are also available, including an essentials box for £30.50 (500g minced beef; 500g diced stewing steak) and a barbecue hamper for £53.
Glenn said: “People come into our shop and ask if the prices are correct.
"If we wanted we could sell the boxes for a lot more but we’ve already paid for the meat. Cash flow is the challenge at the minute, we have to get something back for it.”
Hand washing stations and disposable gloves are provided to keep customers safe as they shop.
The business also provides home delivery for vulnerable people self-isolating at home.
The company employs 350 people from the Greater Manchester area and has had to furlough 95 per cent of them after their income dropped from around £1.4m a week to £100,000 a week.
The new shop, which is being staffed by directors and managers, will help to protect employees' jobs and livelihoods, said Glenn - who is even washing customers’ cars while they browse.
Birtwistles has also been donating supplies to feed NHS staff living at Hotel Football, where Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs are giving health workers a free place to stay during the coronavirus crisis.
Glenn said: “We are just trying to give something back to the community.”
