Inverness shops hailed by judges after picking up national awards
A BUTCHER, fishmonger and coffee shop in Inverness were all winners in the Scottish Independent Retail Awards.
A&I Quality Butchers, which has two shops in Culloden and Hilton, was named butcher of the year for the north of Scotland.
Other regional winners were Duncan Fraser, of Queensgate, which was fishmonger of the year and SO COCO, of High Street, which was coffee shop of the year.
The awards, which were announced at a gala dinner in Glasgow, aim to highlight the value of independent retailers and reward entrepreneurial spirit and business acumen.
Alistair Paul, the owner of A&I Quality Butchers, said he and his 18 staff offer a good service and the business – a traditional butcher’s – also provides locally-sourced good-quality produce. He said: “People realise the quality is so much different when they buy from us than when they buy from a supermarket.”
The shops also support the local community in various ways including fundraising for good causes.
The Culloden shop, for example, is currently trying to raise £1000 for the RNLI at North Kessock while staff at both outlets have also helped to run barbecues at school fundraisers.
The business has won numerous other awards over the years including best beef sausage in the north of Scotland 2014-16, and best pork sausauge for 2015-17.
Fishmonger Malcolm Fraser, who runs the business started 90 years ago by his grandfather, was delighted to be a winner in the awards for a second year running.
“I would like to think it is down to the quality of the product and the service we provide,” he said. “We have a lot of support from our customers.
“The business has grown over the years. We used to be a single unit but we bought the unit next door and converted it.”
