At the beginning of August there was jubilation among businesses in Dromore… retailers from the town had been shortlisted in nine of the 12 categories in the prestigious High Street Heroes Awards.
The awards were established to allow shoppers across Northern Ireland to vote for their favourite independent retailers. Incredibly, no other town in Northern Ireland had so many nominees.
The feat was even more remarkable considering Dromore is one of the smallest towns to have been shortlisted.
With businesses having been nominated by public vote, Dromore were competing against much larger towns such as Lisburn, Carrickfergus, and Newtownards.
Yet it is no surprise that Dromore did so well, because – over the past number of years – a business revolution has been underway throughout the town.
When Jamie McCutcheon – owner of the Barrel and Bean Café – attended his first Dromore Chamber of Commerce meeting there were four other business owners in attendance.
Today, the Chamber has 40 members and – under the leadership of Jamie – it’s one of the largest and most active in Northern Ireland.
Whilst other areas might rely on the local council to promote their businesses, the Chamber say they have taken matters into their own hands.
Any projects or schemes which businesses want to pursue are spear-headed by the Chamber, with the council providing support when required.
According to Jamie, businesses in the town understand that they aren’t competitors. Each company has a particular niche and there is more than enough custom go around.
Andrew is the owner of The Bread Box bakery in Dromore, which was nominated in the ‘Best Deli/Bakery’ category of the awards.
When Andrew first heard The Bread Box was nominated he was understandably surprised.
“We didn’t even know that we were put up for the award,” he said. “It was the Dromore Chamber of Commerce that put us forward for it. The first thing that we knew about it was when we got the congratulations email to say that we were in the top three!”
Andrew believes that the quality of customer service which The Bread Box provides is one of the main reasons for their nomination: “We try to be as friendly and courteous as possible, which is something that is starting to die… very few people say hello now, very few people say goodbye.”
This authenticity is something which Andrew believes defines not only his business, but also his products.
“We make everything totally from scratch,” he explained. “We don’t even use baking powder here… we make our own.
“90% of bakers now wouldn’t even know how to make baking powder and everything is made by hand.”
This effort and commitment to traditional baking methods is appreciated by Andrew’s customers: “A lot of people say it’s like your granny would have made” he said. “It nearly brings them back to their childhood.”
Reflecting on having been nominated for the award, Andrew explained: “We were delighted because it’s the public that vote for it.
“It’s not done by two or three judges, it’s the public and they’re the people that matter, they’re the ones coming through the door.”
Phil Walker is the owner of Quail’s butchers in Dromore. His business was shortlisted in the ‘Best Butcher’ category of the awards.
Like Andrew, Phil also believes that authenticity is one of the reasons why his business was nominated: “We like to stick to traditional methods. A lot of butchers around the country wouldn’t be doing that nowadays. Everything they bring in is pre-packed and ready to go.”
Whilst neither Quail’s nor The Bread Box triumphed in their respective categories, Phil still appreciates that the hard work of the town’s business owners is being recognised.
Said Phil: “It was nice to get out for the awards and celebrate with other businesses within the town. We’ve been in business since 1913 and the small community here have backed us.”
