Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Thornton to hand Crouch End Keys Back to Budgens
Photo: Retail Insider
Andrew Thornton was the man at the helm of Thornton Budgens who turned the store from a rather down at heel second rate Budgens supermarket into something the newly wealthy Crooshont could feel at home with.
Today he sent out an email explaining why he's quitting N8:
I am writing to thank you for your support and commitment to Thornton’s Budgens of Crouch End, but to also regretfully share the news that after seven years running Thornton's Budgens of Crouch End I will be selling the store back to Budgens, which will in turn hand it on to another independent retailer.Thanks to the support of Budgens, this decision will have no impact on the terms of any member of staff’s employment and no redundancies will be made.This decision is led by my desire to concentrate my energies on running just one store (Belsize Park) to be able to deliver on my own personal ambitions.With so many people in our community who have helped us run fantastic programmes such as Food from the Sky and Stall4all, I wanted to take the time to explain this decision to you.Crouch End has been described as the most competitive food retail high street in the UK. In addition to our Budgens we have a Tesco next door, a Waitrose four doors down and an M&S nearby. In spite of this, thanks to the support of each and every one of you and the hard work of our team, we have continued to trade and at a core trading level, the store remains profitable.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on
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What ICELAND Harringay needs is an Andrew Thornton to come in and give it a seven-year uplift.
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Permalink Reply by michaela rourke on
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Having just returned from another frustrating jaunt to Budgens, I'd say there are a couple of things for the new owner to sort out. First the pricing. it's generally more expensive than Waitrose which seems ridiculous when they are so close, and second the chaotic layout - especially round the front of the shop, but it's always impossible to find what you're looking for and nothing is arranged logically. These are both reasons why I don't shop there more often and things that shouldn't be too difficult to put right. The only reason I was there this morning was that Waitrose had been stripped bare over the weekend! I'd love to support it more as a local store, but find myself using it more as a last resort.
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My golden rule with that shop has been to never ever buy the basics there - prices can be breathtaking. But I've loved it for the eccentric stocking: the lovely Spanish crisps, the excellent small Devon Red chickens - the only place I know where I can buy a palatable chicken that isn't the size of half a horse. Fruit & veg generally to be avoided (but then to buy fruit and veg in a supermarket in Crouch End would seem to me perverse) with the occasional exception, like the Roscoff onions that the Frenchman managed to offload on them; good lamb from the butcher at the back.
My hope is that the new regime doesn't make it an identikit supermarket with nothing offbeat.
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Permalink Reply by Anette on
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I agree with Budgens being a tad frustrating in terms of layout. I find it difficult to locate what I need when I go in there. However, if you're looking for something a tad better than Waitrose or Tesco, or somehting that's generally hard to find, Budgens is the place to go.
Tesco down the road is really grubby and horrible. Waitrose is always completely rammed, and is frustrating for that reason. Budgens it is. I hope the new owner will look after Budgens the way it is now, it's a great shop, with loads of potential. A few niggles that can be easily sorted, and I bet you the people of Crouch End (and Harringay, possibly) will start loving it again.
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