deli of the month even have benefited from those turbulent times. Many locals were reluctant to venture into the city centre a couple of miles away, and preferred to shop in the Lisburn Road, which is now considered one of Belfast’s most upmarket areas. “Dad did home deliveries too,” says Mark, “which I think helped shelter him from the economic realities. But by the Eighties and early Nineties you had the big boys like Tesco and Sainsbury moving in. Once that happened the deli went into a bit of a decline.” Laura Graham-Brown puts it more bluntly, saying it was lucky the pair raised the money for their refurbishment just before the credit crunch struck. “It was invest or die.” Three decades of the Troubles undoubtedly left the food sector here playing catch-up, not least because travel was so difficult. Cheap flights to Europe, which have driven so much change in mainland Britain’s foodie culture, have only been operating from Belfast in the past few years. So when the Browns describe Arcadia as unique, they are not far from the truth. “There’s no deli culture here,” says Laura. “There really isn’t. You’ve got Sawers in town [a deli and provisioners in College Street, run by Kieran Sloan], a couple of farm shops out of town and a few coffee shops with a bit of wire shelving for deli products, but that’s it.” To help create a premium deli image for Arcadia, the couple called in Belfast design consultancy Triplicate. The firm has worked with a number of Irish food brands, as well as branding Belfast’s only Michelin-starred restaurant, Deane’s. But Triplicate was not given a free rein. “The designers were all for us changing the name of the shop,” say Mark. “But we didn’t want to wipe out the past. Eighty years of history is something you can’t buy.” So old photographs of Arcadia are now on display in the shop, and the refreshed logo retains a period feel, although the new interior – the building was completely gutted and refitted – is light, bright and contemporary, with a bespoke painted timber
ARCADIA MUST-STOCKS ●O ffbeat
Bottling Co’s clementine chutney ●O ’Docherty’s black bacon ●F ilemiletown Creamery goat’s cheese ●T he Bay Tree pomegranate dressing ●C landeboye yoghurts ●G iven’s Irish roast ham) ●S uki tea (for younger shoppers) ●B ell’s tea (for older shoppers) ●M orrow’s chicken liver paté ●L orina lemonade ●M iller Damsel charcoal biscuits ●M ondovino Spicy Moroccan seed & nut crackers ●S errano ham (La Rousse Foods)
shelving system and tiled floor. Laura says: “We bought a copy of Jane Peyton’s Fabulous Food Shops and went through it saying ‘we like this’ or ‘we don’t like that’. That gave the designer a good idea of what we wanted.” Despite anxieties about rent and rates, turnover has held up strongly in the new-look store. This year should see sales of around £420,000, and that’s without the benefit of a café offer – there is no space for indoor seating, and the owners feel there are enough coffee shops and sandwich bar ‘delis’ already in Belfast. “I hate the way the word ‘deli’ has been bastardised,” says Mark. “This is not a place to come and eat – it’s much more a place to buy food for dinner parties.” In fact, the shop stocks a mix of true deli products and everyday groceries, in the style of a high-class provisioner. An old 1950s photo shows Mark’s grandparents posing in front of shelves laden with Belfast’s famous Bell’s tea, bottles of HP
SOLE TRADERS Among the biggest gambles taken by the Browns in refitting Arcadia was to install a sizeable fresh fish counter, but the move seems to be paying off. “It was a quite a brave move, but thankfully not one we regret!” says Laura Graham-Brown. The secret has been working closely with supplier Keenan Seafood, a third-generation Belfast business, which supplies fish readyfilleted. “We aim to achieve at least a 50% margin to allow for any wastage, which was a big worry,” says Laura, “but we’ve managed to keep waste to a minimum by ordering little and often. Our supplier is based less than a mile from the shop, so we can get two or three deliveries a day if necessary.” The counter was made to order and cost £3,000. “I’d seen a similar counter at a trade show, made some enquiries and was initially quoted £5,000, so putting effort into sourcing this one paid off. But we hadn’t factored in the cost of an ice-maker, which was another £2,000.” Tips for other retailers include getting the counter plumbed in so it can be washed off directly into underfloor drainage, helping to keep the deli free of unwanted fishy smells. Vol.11 Issue 8 · September 2010
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