'Buying deli was my sabbatical' says business owner returning to finance

AFTER more than 20 years in senior finance roles, Rachel Dafforn walked away from spreadsheets and strategy meetings and bought a deli. Not because she was burned out or chasing a retirement hobby - but because she wanted to try something radically different.

- by LEWIS CLARKE

Now, after nearly two years at the helm of The Braunton Deli, she's putting the business up for sale and preparing to return to the career she left behind.

It's a story about calculated risk, personal reinvention and discovering what really matters - then choosing to do it all again, differently.

When Rachel, 46, spotted a small deli for sale in North Devon, she was looking for more than just a change of pace.

"I really wanted to own my own business," she said. "I had my own finance consultancy business for a year before deciding I wanted to do something completely different and away from finance."

She'd spent the best part of two decades climbing the ladder in corporate finance, first in London, then in Devon with companies like Mole Valley Farmers and RGB Building Supplies.

But in October 2023 she bought Fine Foods of Braunton and rebranded it three months later as The Braunton Deli.

She said: "My aim is to source as many products as possible from Devon, Cornwall and Somerset - and, wherever possible, deal directly with the producer so that I can get the full story of how the product is made."

Admittedly, Rachel didn't ease into deli ownership.