Mansfield Woodhouse butcher 'overwhelmed' with support after court case

Robert Bowring appeared in court on February 22 this year in connection with food hygiene offences dating back to 2019, where he received a substantial fine and was banned from running his own premises.

Robert’s son George, who had since overhauled the business, appealed for support in the wake of the news, voicing his frustration that the case had taken almost three years to be heard due to covid delays – and admits the reaction had been overwhelming.

George had turned the business around in the years since the offences, working closely with Environmental Health to gain a four-star food hygiene rating, and winning ‘Supreme Champion’ at the British Pie Awards in 2021.

George said to your Chad: “We knew the court case finally finishing would cause a bit of a stir, but we hoped that people had enough faith in us that we had turned the business around since.

"It was really frustrating that covid meant the case was repeatedly delayed, it’s been difficult having this hanging over us for three years.

"To us, it was old news, we had done so much since then, but the amount of support we have had from the Woodhouse community and beyond has been fantastic.

"People have been popping in, ringing up and just letting us know they are going to continue buying from us – we were a bit overwhelmed by it to be honest and can’t thank everyone enough.”

Brian Candlin has been manager at the Mansfield Woodhouse store for two years, and admits he was shocked at the amount of well-wishers in the wake of the news.

"We have had people bringing us gifts or just popping in to tell us they are going to continue buying from us,” Brian explained.

"We could have broken down and cried at some points, we can’t thank the community enough for supporting us.”

George and the Bowring team are now hoping to move forward with the business, and are chasing down a five star rating, as well as hopefully collecting more awards, continuing to work alongside Mansfield Town Football Club and winning other large commercial contracts for their award-winning pies.

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