House of Fraser in Birmingham is to close its troubled butcher section after more than 120 years’ trading.
The loss-making section, once seen as one of the city’s premier outlets for quality meats, is set to close by the end of the month, along with the store's delicatessen counter.
Well-heeled customers once made a weekly pilgrimage to the former Rackhams for their beef fillet, pork loin and poultry.
If The Good Life’s Margot Leadbetter had lived in Edgbaston rather than Surbiton she would have got hen-pecked husband Jerry to drop her off on a Saturday so she could pick up the ingredients for an exotic Steak Diane.
But the business has suffered in recent years in the face of competition from upmarket chain stores such as Waitrose and Marks & Spencer, which all have dedicated butchery counters.
TV farmer Jimmy Doherty tried to make a go of the House of Fraser concession two years ago but even his “celebrity” image does not appear to have been enough to save the counter.
It is understood that several members of staff face losing their jobs.
In a statement to the Birmingham Post, House of Fraser confirmed the food hall was being revamped as part of a cost-cutting exercise.
The statement said: “We can confirm that part of the Birmingham food hall will close in order to make way for an extended ‘food on the go concept’ as well as a beer, wine, spirits and confectionary department.
“House of Fraser is continuously looking at ways to manage its business more efficiently and, as part of this strategy, has conducted a review of the Birmingham food hall in order to reduce costs.
“As a result, regrettably, a small number of staff are at risk of redundancy. The company has now entered into a formal period of consultation with staff affected by the proposed changes and the business will wherever possible try to identify alternative employment within House of Fraser.”
The store controversially ditched a Birmingham sausage maker to make way for a new butchers run under the Jimmy’s Farm brand in 2008.
Hall Green-based family firm AW Lashford and Sons had supplied the Corporation Street store for 25 years with its award-winning speciality bangers, which included the smoky Royal Sausage, produced to commemorate the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana.
At the time of the launch of Suffolk-based Jimmy’s Farm, House of Fraser said it hoped the butchery concession would be the first of many joint ventures.
House of Fraser is likely to have moved to revamp its basement food hall – as well as assessing the rest of the showpiece store – before the rumoured opening of rival department store chain John Lewis, understood to be the centrepiece of the £600 million redevelopment of New Street Station.
