Fruit & Veg Counter

Given a good following wind, our tomato grower Brian Ascroft could chuck one of his fragrant cherry-red fruits from an upstairs window and expect it to land somewhere near our Hesketh Bank store. Many of our fruit and vegetable suppliers, Brian among them, are extremely close to us and our customers, and as a result our fresh produce really is fresh. Because we only need to order enough asparagus, strawberries or new potatoes to supply our 28 stores, we can get it from the farm to the fruit and veg aisle in double-quick time. Once it’s there, we’ll put the really special stuff in our wooden display crates to remind you to catch it while it’s fresh. Our specialities include dug-today new potatoes from Sean Mallinson at Mere Brow, near Tarleton. For a few weeks of the year, he gets up ridiculously early for picking so that his potatoes can be in store the same day. Peter Ascroft, who grows our cauliflowers, also cuts his crop to order. These unusual arrangements have grown up from years of mutual work and trust; because we know and understand farming, we can get hold of the best and freshest produce. Of course, for every cauliflower, there’s a cantaloupe. Some crops just don’t grow in the UK, but we hold our exotic fruits, lemons and bananas to the same high standards we have for local produce.