Award-winning Poulton pie makers The Pork Shop set for Lytham expansion

The Pork Shop, on Church Street, will open a new shop on Clifton Street in Lytham after Christmas as it approaches its 20th anniversary.

31-year-old Jack Gardner from Hambleton co-owns the butchers and hot food shop with his wife Amy, after taking over the business from dad Lee in 2019.

Business has been booming despite the current pandemic, as it has been able to continue trading, and Jack said the Lytham expansion would be "just the start" of The Pork Shop empire.

"It's great that we're able to do this, we're looking at taking on around ten to fifteen new staff and creating more jobs in Lytham," Jack said.

"We're also hoping to branch out to Spar outlets in the area with our hot counter, and eventually we might think about even further afield.

"We've just launched The Pork Shop Express too, which is like a pop-up format. But Lytham is the first step and we're really excited."

In 2019, The Pork Shop's steak and onion pie was crowned the winner of its class at the British Pie Awards, achieving an impressive 93 out of 100 marks.

Its steak and stilton pies picked up a silver at the prestigious awards, and bronze awards were given to its pork pies and Uncle Dave's pork pies.

The shop's award-winning offerings are made on the premises by hand daily, and hard-working staff have secured the business as the pie supplier for both Blackpool Football Club and Fleetwood Town Football Club.

Jack said Lytham was the prime choice for the first step of The Pork Shop's expansion, as it was "similar to Poulton, but much busier."

He continued: "We've traded in Poulton for nearly 20 years and it's great, but it's more of a night time place now, mostly bars and restaurants.

"Lytham is a similar town, but much busier, there are more shops and lots of passing trade.

"I've worked at the Poulton shop for around 17 years, and I always saw its potential. We're looking forward to seeing where this takes us."