New 'artisan' butchers opens in Shrewsbury
A butcher is ready to get a slice of the pie after opening his first shop.
Alastair Watkin has launched Frankwell Artisan Butchers, in Frankwell, Shrewsbury, after 35 years in the trade.
His first day of trading was yesterday, and he was looking far from an April fool as Salopians queued up to sample his wares.
The shop has been converted from a hair salon, but now it will be home to clean cuts of a different kind.
Alastair said: "Three days ago it was a hairdressers, but we've completely refurbished it. We've been getting a lot of people today. They're loving it. They've been queueing outside. It's a great little area, Frankwell."
Asked about his specialities, he said: "We do home made pork pies and Welsh lamb. Everything is fully traceable back to the farm. Everything is done on site. I make my own sausages."
He added: "It's my first shop on my own. I've been in the trade since becoming an apprentice aged 13, and I'm 48 now."
Alastair started his career at the butchers shop in the Riverside Shopping Centre, and has also worked at Shepley's Family Butchers in Market Drayton, as well as training apprentices at the ABP Food Group slaughterhouse in Shrewsbury.
He is now planning to pass on his expertise and skills to 16-year-old apprentice Caelan Thomson.
