Roberts & Speight

Roberts & Speight was founded in 1975, by current owner John Roberts’ father, and developed into a comprehensive delicatessen in 2000. They stock quality products and try to be ‘exceptionally competitive’ when it comes to their prices.

“We don’t sell items at a premium if they are unusual items which are not seen everywhere,” John said. “We have sensible margins, which you don’t see very often in independent shops.

“But they are not cheap, as the products themselves are not cheap. It is quality food; things that aren’t produced in factories, artisanal products which are different to what you might find in a supermarket.”

Situated on Norwood, Roberts & Speight is flanked by the large Tesco on one side and a smaller Asda supermarket on the other, but John has noticed them to be more of a help than a hindrance.

“Having Tesco down Corporation Road has seen increased footfall and made people more aware of us, and where we are,” John said. “It might have seemed detrimental, but it’s not.

“Beverley, as a whole, has changed. There is lots more competition and there are more delis since we opened. But we have a free car park and there is plenty of space to park on Norwood as well, all of which has helped us to increase our customer base.”

This is set to increase further, with the creation of a new website, www.robertsandspeight.co.uk, from which customers can order from thousands of selected products.

“The previous website just ticked over,” John said. “But Indicoll have handwritten this one for us and improved the software we are getting. We just need to promote it.”

The recession has meant that the business has seen a static period, so it is hoped that the enhanced website will attract more customers, with free local deliveries, collection and UK-wide courier services at a reasonable price, meaning that people all over the country will be able to sample the special Roberts & Speight excellence.

“We will look for products for customers, if it is not something we already stock,” John confirmed. “And, if we find it is something we would like to keep, then we will do.

“We also offer advice. That is our strength. We can match up wines for starters, main courses and sweets. Everything is hand-sell. We have a base of regular customers, but we like seeing new faces. We got two in today, who have given us their email addresses to be put on our mailing list.”

Being on the Roberts & Speight mailing list means you get more parma ham than spam.

“We invite our customers to tasting events, where they get to sample over 100 wines and food etc. We do them in May and two in November, in the run-up to Christmas, and it only costs £5 to attend. Plus, we have monthly wine-tasting events, which are very popular,” John said.

Their passion has always been for wine, with a 75% focus on wine and spirits and a 25% concentration on the deli side of things. And they have established quite a reputation as purveyors of fine dining amongst the people in the know.

“I am disappointed people don’t know more about us,” admitted John. “But I am pleased with how it has grown. We need to be more switched on with advertising.”

Roberts & Speight specifically caters to the dinner party scene and offers a fine living experience, with the sales of glassware and tableware becoming increasingly popular and the introduction of cigars five years ago.

“We are the only people in the area where you can get hand-rolled Cuban cigars,” John added. “It is an amazing market. We sell things that are made well and can be consumed.”

They sell a lot of Spanish-inspired food and are noticing a big growth in this area, which has surprised John, who thought that his sales would be more heavily weighted to the Italian food.

John and Paul have tried every wine in the shop, and Gill is a cheese expert, so they have made sure that they have tasted all their wares, so they can be sure of the quality before they sell it. They also make all the pastries themselves, on site.

“We make pasties, sausage rolls, pies, tarts, meringues. Our chicken and pancetta pies are the most popular item we sell,” John said. “Everything we make ourselves, we make well.

“We are offering the best we can to our customers, at the best possible prices.”