Huntingdon gets its butcher back

HUNTINGDON town centre now has a traditional butcher’s shop for the first time for many years.

Day’s of Huntingdon opened last Thursday in the former Clarks shoe shop premises in St Benedict’s Court, just two doors from where the now-defunct Dewhurst chain used to trade.

Day’s, which has been trading in Buckden for 40 years and also has a shop in Crown Street, St Ives, identified a gap in the market for a traditional butcher, according to Paul Wade, who is in charge of the new Huntingdon outlet.

“Huntingdon needs a butcher. We saw the opportunity and decided to expand,” he told The Hunts Post.

Day’s will not knock supermarkets’ butchery counters, but they obviously feel themselves a cut above.

“We have butchers with more than 30 years’ experience. They know their craft, and they hang their meat for the required amount of time,” Mr Wade said. “Many people have got used to meat in lot of supermarkets being packed in a protective atmosphere to keep it bright red. Hanging it properly makes it much tastier and tenderer.

“Customers shouldn’t be intimidated. We butchers are always pleased to help them choose the right cut and advise on how best to cook it.

“If there’s a particular joint they want created for a dinner party, such as fancy ‘guards of honour’, we’re up for it.”

Day’s is the sixth new business to open in Huntingdon town centre since late summer, according to town centre manager Katy Sismore. And, since the opening of the Friday indoor market in the Commemoration Hall, the town now has four markets in the weeks that include the Farmers’ Markets.

But cuts in district council funding for town centre partnerships – Huntingdon will lose �10,000 from HDC in April – mean the partnership will no longer be able to afford to promote the farmers’ events.

“When we lose the other �10,000 from HDC, we may have to do something more drastic,” Mrs Sismore added.