Panic-buying, queues and no delivery slots for weeks - supermarket shopping isn’t as simple as it used to be. While retail staff are working around the clock to keep shelves stocked and supplies shipped out to customers, many people are looking for alternative ways to shop.
Tucked away on an industrial park in Irlam is one such solution: an enormous catering butchers that’s opened its doors to the public for the first time.
Birtwistles Catering Butchers normally supplies hotels and restaurants such as the Hilton, Radisson, The Alchemist, Gusto, The Botanist and Tampopo.
But like many suppliers, the family-run business suddenly found its main source of custom cut off when the country went into lockdown.