Not just a butcher’s – a hub for community

THERE'S no secret formula - it’s just a question of being chatty people that enjoy food.”

- BY CONAILL CORNER

That's Jonny Farrell, the name behind Butcher Farrell's Meat Emporium, the butcher's shop which supplies some of the region’s best restaurants - and which recently opened a second, larger store in Ormskirk.

Specialising in dry-aging and high welfare meat, Butcher Farrell’s began as a relatively small meat counter in Owd Barn, Bispham. Jonny, who'd swapped a career in audio engineering for butchery while living in Shanghai, came back to the UK to study the art of food before opening the shop in 2020.

The butchery has gone on to win numerous awards for its work, while restaurants such as Manifest, Vetch, Cucina di Vin-cenzo, “8” by Andrew Sheridan and Michelin-starred so-lo all cook its meat.

In November last year, Butcher Farrell’s Meat Emporium opened another site, this time on Church Street in Ormskirk.

The new store replaces DC Scott & Sons, another butcher but one which Butcher Farrell's differs from in several respects - so much so that some locals have reportedly been “very upset” with their new local meat counter.

Jonny said: “In around May last year, the guys from Scott's got in touch and asked if we were interested in the site because they were thinking of selling up.

“To be completely honest, I wasn’t too sure. We weren't sure what was the right thing to do.

“So, I went down and stood outside, and I was looking at the high street thinking, ‘We don’tneed another coffee shop here, we don’t need another vape shop. What we need is a hub for the community — it needs a butcher’s shop?

“I thought that it'd be heart-breaking if the site didn’t go to a butcher's, so we went for it.