Interview with Farmhouse
Can you introduce yourself and tell me a little about your background?
I’m Jenny and I started working here as a Saturday girl at Farmhouse after leaving school and eventually went full-time until I was about 23. My two older sisters then opened a party shop just a few doors down from our original premises. When they expanded into Gloucester, I left Farmhouse for a while to work with my sisters.
I ended up running the party shop for around 15 or 16 years. During that time, my younger brother, Rob, stayed with Farmhouse full-time and has been part of the business ever since. When we opened Cheltenham 12 years ago, I moved back to Farmhouse and have been here ever since.
Rob has been involved continuously, whereas I took a bit of a detour before coming back. I also have a younger sister who went in a completely different direction, she played golf for England, toured Europe professionally, and now lives in Denmark working as a massage therapist.
How did your business start and what inspired it?
We’re a family business and this year we celebrate 56 years. My Mum and Dad originally ran a restaurant and café in Gloucester, in the King’s Square area. They were ready to start a family and didn’t want the late nights that came with it.
Instead, he opened a shop selling provisions like bacon, sausages, cheese and everyday essentials. At that time, supermarkets weren’t really a thing, so people relied on local shops, and the business was very successful.
Over the years, as supermarkets grew and shopping habits changed, the business naturally evolved. We moved more into takeaway food, and 12 years ago we opened our Cheltenham store. It was a much bigger space than we needed at the time, so we added a small café and takeaway counter, not expecting it to become a major part of the business. But it really took off, and we had to expand the café to keep up with demand.
Nine years ago, we also moved our Gloucester store from the indoor market into a larger premises and again included a café area because it had worked so well elsewhere. While we still sell the same core products we always have, the business has evolved into something much more café- and takeaway-focused alongside the deli side.
My dad is still very much involved, and now Rob and I are taking on the day-to-day running of the business.
Are there any new products or services planned for 2026?
We’ve always offered buffet and outdoor catering, but we scaled that back for a while when we opened our second Gloucester shop because staffing was a challenge. That’s something we’re now keen to grow again.
We want to focus more on catering for parties, christenings and larger business buffets, so that when people are holding events, we can take care of the food. That’s definitely an area we’re concentrating on this year and into 2026.
In terms of products, it’s less about introducing completely new things and more about evolving what we already do and trying new ideas in the café and continuing to champion local food.
One thing many people don’t realise is that we produce a lot of what we sell. We make our own sausages, cooked meats, pies and sausage rolls, all from our Gloucester base. Everything is freshly made every day and delivered to our shops each morning. Quality has always been at the heart of what we do.
We might be slightly more expensive than some places, but that’s because we use better-quality ingredients. We also manage production carefully, so there’s very little waste as we know what sells, what doesn’t, and how much to make each day.
What three words would you use to sum up your brand?
Family-run. Local. Fresh.
At our core, we’re a local family business that’s always lived and worked here, producing fresh, homemade food using quality ingredients.
What would you say are the biggest challenges facing businesses in Cheltenham now?
The biggest challenge at the moment is business rates, especially following the recent budget. They’re having a huge impact on small businesses like ours, and it’s something completely outside of our control. With rising overheads, it affects how much people can spend and how often they shop. It’s a very tough time to be in business, but all you can do is keep going, adapt where you can, and do the best you can.
How would you describe your role within the local business community?
We serve a lot of people who work locally, office workers, shop staff and other businesses in the area. Many of them come in every single day, so we really feel like we’re feeding the local community.
We know so many of our customers by name, especially those who commute through this part of the high street in the mornings. The top end of the high street has a lovely feel because you genuinely get to know people, and some customers even walk up from the lower end just to come to us.
Lunchtime is very much about local businesses too, which is great. There’s a real sense of community, and we’re proud to be part of that.
About Farmhouse
Established in 1969, Farmhouse Deli Foods is a traditional English delicatessen specialising in handcrafted produce. We’re best known for our home-cooked hams, home-cured bacon and our range of freshly made sausages.
Made daily from prime English pork and hand-linked in natural casings, our sausages sit at the heart of what we do. Visit our in-store café to enjoy a selection of cooked meats, prepared fresh by our butchers.
Opening hours:
Monday-Saturday: 8:00am-4:30pm
Sunday: CLOSED