Meet ICR 2023’s Local Hero: Norfolk Deli

Owners Mark and Rosie opened their deli in January 2014, after having what could be described as wide-ranging careers, including acting, midwifery, managing a food hall and 30+ years in IT sales and marketing.

As Mark explains, “It’s not necessarily what people think leads to owning a deli, but in one way or another, we have both been closely associated with food. For example, my father gave me part-time work at The Curzon House Club and then Aspinall’s in London where I ended up as a wine waiter and cocktail barman. In between acting jobs Rosie ran a sandwich round in London and was a private chef for a marketing company, and between us we provided catering for weddings, corporate parties etc.”

Championing local
Situated in the small Victorian seaside town of Hunstanton, Norfolk Deli specialises in local produce. “Our focus is on Norfolk products which naturally includes Norfolk cheeses”, Mark says. “We of course offer a lot more than just Norfolk cheese and we sell a lot more than just cheese. I like to say that as a business we are more of a deli than we are a cheesemonger, but on the flipside, we are much more of a cheesemonger than a deli. We bridge that void which sometimes exists between one and the other. Not many cheesemongers, for example, have an alcohol license, and not many delis typically stock approximately 100 different cheeses at any one time either.

“When customers visit our shop, not only can they source some amazing cheeses, but they can also add into their shopping basket, a local wine, or local beers, locally made chutneys, bread, and crackers. But without a doubt, in comparison to so many cheese retailers in the country, our stock of Norfolk cheeses from people like Catherine Temple of Mrs Temple’s cheeses, Arthur Betts from Ferndale Dairies or Jonathan and Dulcie Crickmore at Fen Farm shows our passion for Norfolk produce.

It is this passion for championing local produce ties into their hard work and determination to succeed. As Mark tells Inspirational Cheese Retailers, “We always get up with a desire to improve on the previous day. There is a saying “Those that want to succeed in business don’t always achieve it, whereas those who have to succeed do”. This of course is a statement which can be disproven many times over, but it is true that we are driven to succeed because we must. When we moved to West Norfolk, we had sold everything and had nothing standing between us and the proverbial poor house other than our business.

“On a slightly more jovial note, our dogs make sure that we’re up and ready to go. No matter what time of year it is one of us (me) is up and walking the dogs on the beach at 5am each morning, light or dark, rain or shine. It’s a brilliant time of day to think about what we’ve done, and I often come back with an idea (which my wife dreads). We share a small town with three major supermarket chains, so we have to keep coming up with ideas which we can implement before the big boys catch on.”

Community spirit
With high streets still in peril after the Covid-19, local businesses have a tough task of adapting to the new normal. Mark is one independent business owner taking action to boost footfall and restore his town centre.

“Following on from all the lockdowns in 2020 and 2021, everybody hoped that trade and footfall would return to relative normality. The events which took place in Ukraine in early 2022 scuppered that idea. We noticed a significant reduction in footfall which has obviously had an effect. It would be wishful thinking to believe that we have overcome anything as yet, as when you have a retail shop you are reliant on many factors which are out of your control.”

But as Mark tells Inspirational Cheese Retailers, local authorities are working with the community to help make the British high street a vibrant cacophony of small businesses. He explains, “In the latter half of 2022 we were part of a newly formed group called the Hunstanton Advisory Group, the role of the group is to look at how and where projects can be implemented to improve the town, its image and its attractiveness to help bring in more people. I’m always awash with ideas and this gives me the perfect platform to help us overcome the challenges of 2022/23 by working on ideas to increase footfall in the town in general.”