Thanks from Everyone at Ruxstons for 2022 and Happy new year for 2023!
I would like to warmly thank all of our customers and friends who have helped us so much in 2022.
Our customers at Horner, Porlock and Minehead who were so supportive through the cold weather at Horner Farm Shop in January and February, when the days were short, dark and honestly rather quiet. Still, we kept on going through the winter with a steadfast determination not to become a tourist shop that did not supply the locals, we did not stop even when the shop temperature dropped to near 0'C and our loyal band of followers were more than happy to traipse through the mud to the shop as a result, thanks so much to each and every one of you. A huge thanks also to our loyal customers from further afield who have bought products via our website, we are very grateful to all of you.
Moving into the spring, and the warmer weather that returned with it, we hosted our own burger night within the barns of Horner Farm. The two-day event was rather enthusiastically overbooked by myself, but was great fun, and most customers were forgiving of the long wait time, it was our first time after all! Still, a 100% Grass fed Beef Burger with Chips and Salad, luxury Granny Gothards Ice Cream and drink for just £13 gave us some goodwill leeway, this meal was worth the wait! This event gave us with many ideas for the future in terms of our business expanding to offer high quality takeaway food.
When we decided to move to Wellington in June, we found a shop which was the required size to fully develop our three-year plan of selling regenerative meat on the High St. We had a manic 8 days, yes just 8 days from moving from one shop to building another. Yet we still opened for a heatwave and announced ourselves to Wellington with a bang of 75 ice cream flavours. As we moved into September, we found our feet away from ice cream and have built a very strong group of local customers, thank you to all of them. At this time, we welcomed John Twine to the business who joined me and Fraser on our long-term project here in Wellington. John has offered some great new ideas into how we can develop in 2023.
As we got into October, we were pretty much putting the final stages to our Christmas purchasing but more importantly our plans to expand into hot food came to fruition. We started serving hand stretched sourdough Pizzas cooked directly on the stone, with a variety of toppings. People in Wellington can now enjoy a high-quality takeaway from Ruxstons between the hours of 13.00 and 20.00 on Fridays and Saturdays. Not only has this added a new element to our business, but also helped keep us occupied and thinking about new tasks.
As we approach the end of the year there will now be a time for reflection and ideas on what areas of the business can improve on and what new products can be offered in 2023. Stay tuned in 2023 for our new plans. Both myself and Fraser would once again like to offer a huge thank you to all of our customers and friends who have been so helpful to us, both with their custom, advice and friendly words of encouragement when they were needed.
Thanks, and have a great new year.
Gabriel