Our History
Clare Barry, we are first and foremost a family team, with a rich history of local success and outstanding customer service behind us.
Barry Lusted established his first small butcher’s shop in Cheltenham, back in 1982. Now his son Darren and daughter Clare are overseeing the way forward with our exciting online service, taking the flourishing and trusted local business to loyal customers throughout the UK.
Barry’s reputation for top class meat, combined with a winning way with customers meant that he built up a bustling trade and soon outgrew the Cheltenham premises, moving to a new store in Angel Street, Worcester.
But again, Angel meats, as the business was then known, prospered quickly, thanks to Barry’s encyclopaedic knowledge of the best cuts of meat for the best prices and in 1987, he upped sticks to Wyre Piddle. Three years later, as the quest for bigger and better premises to serve Barry’s growing army of loyal customers, business boomed at Pershore Industrial Estate.
By 1993, Barry was overseeing a fleet of five lorries, covering outlets across the country. It was hard work but the demand was there and Barry was eager to keep up with customers who came back for more.
But it wasn’t all hard graft and providing knock-down prices. At the same time Barry was keen that all produce should be recognised as excellent quality, sourced from responsible suppliers, with the highest calibre of cleanliness. Remember in those days things were a bit different!
We didn’t have the diligent attention to standards within the meat industry that is so prevalent today.
That’s why Barry is a true pioneer - guaranteeing his customers excellent quality, backed up with an EEC Improved Licence. Looking back, we are proud that we embraced European red tape to help give our customers what they want.
And we all know how that red tape has grown! We are happy to report that so has our business! Why? Because we care about our customers. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? But how many other businesses can you name that genuinely live up to this most basic of requirements?
Back in 1993, A Mr FA Eames, a veterinary officer with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, no less, reported that: “The operating standards at Angel Meats are excellent.”
Meanwhile, a kindly local newspaper reporter noted that the standards reached to fit in with the EEC requirements were ‘amazing’.
More than 10 years on, such standards and attention to detail remain at the heart of everything we do. Times – and methods of reaching our customers – may have changed but our passion for supplying the best we can and doing the best we can for you, remain the same. We’re amazed that anyone could settle for anything less!
We’ve come through some bad times – with our historic shop in Evesham High Street falling victim to last year’s floods, but here we are bigger and better than ever.
These days, Darren and Clare are following in their dad’s footsteps to move on further into the 21st century as www.clarebarry.co.uk picks up plaudits for its fantastic produce and customer service.
But you don’t have to listen to what we say – why not check out some of our customer testimonials?
And the proof of the pudding is in the eating as they say – so why not give us a go?
Thanks for shopping with www.clarebarry.co.uk
We look forward to serving you.
