‘Time to bow out’ for ye olde sausage shop (From Croydon Guardian)

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‘Time to bow out’ for ye olde sausage shop

3:26pm Monday 24th September 2007

comment Comments (18) Have your say »

By Kerry McQueeney »

A much-loved chain of local butchers is facing the chop after more than a century in business.

Kennedy's - famed for its sausages - is due to finish trading at Christmas, with all nine of its shops in south London expected to close by then.

"We have got a lot of customers who have been coming to us for years - one customer has been coming to us since World War II."
Chris Kennedy

Branches in Church Street, Croydon and High Street, South Norwood are among those earmarked for closure.

Increasing overheads and a decline in trade have been cited as the reasons behind the closure.

Chris Kennedy, one of the company's directors, said: "Overheads have been going up and sales are going down and it has come to the stage where it is no longer viable to run the business. It is sad for us to close after 130 years.

"Our great grandfather founded Kennedy's. Our last trading day for all of our shops, except one, is on December 22."

Mr Kennedy said: "We won't be making a big fuss or having any special promotions - that's not our style.

"We like to keep ourselves to ourselves. We're not one for lots of publicity.

"We have got a lot of customers who have been coming to us for years - one customer has been coming to us since World War II.

"And we have staff who have been with us for years, decades and, in fact, 40 years in one case.

"We're not blaming anybody. It is just the way it works sometimes. We've done all right."

He said: "We have been in business for 130 years. Not many companies can say that. It is just time for us to bow out.

"It is very upsetting for the staff, and for us, but we have to be realistic.

"The business can only go on for as long as the customers keep coming to us."

Mr Kennedy would not comment on what would happen to the company's staff.

Kennedy's was founded in Peckham 130 years ago and over the years it has expanded to nine shops all over south London.

What do you think? Contact us with your memories of Kennedy's butchers by calling 020 8330 9556, emailing kmcqueeney@london.newsquest.co.uk.

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Larry, Croydon says...
4:57pm Mon 24 Sep 07

We won't be making a big fuss

So not going out with a big bang(er) then?

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mandy, ex-croydon says...
5:39pm Mon 24 Sep 07

What a shame. I come into West Wickham quite often, and when I do I stock up with kennedy's. They are simply the best sausages! This is so sad that such a great small business is going to have to close. Saturday lunch will never be the same!

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guy lawson, croydon says...
8:39am Tue 25 Sep 07

We like to keep ourselves to ourselves. We're not one for lots of publicity

Sounds very defeatist, like he couldn't give a sausage ;)

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Nick, Selsdon says...
7:19pm Tue 25 Sep 07

Shame.. they had the best steak pies around. Will be missed.

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gordon, croydon says...
6:00am Thu 27 Sep 07

Kennedy's shutting shop? I'm hope someone's telling porkies!

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Royal, Knoxville, Tennessee. USA says...
1:23am Sat 29 Sep 07

Someone buy their equipment and recipe and get in the sausage mail order business, and/or supply the bigger stores.

Royal.

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K.Oakes, Canada says...
4:59pm Sat 20 Oct 07

When attending Stanley Tech in 1939, I used to purchase a steak pie here on the way to school. It was then heated up for me in the common room and I ate it for lunch. They were **** good pies !!

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Anita Richards, Cheltenham says...
6:37pm Tue 23 Oct 07

I lived down the Walworth Road as a child, Mum had seven kids and we lived on Kennedy's food. When I travel down to London from Cheltenham if I have the time I catch a No 12 bus from Westminster to the Walworth Road, buy as many sausages as I can carry, and bring them back to Cheltenham. This is a disaster on Titanic scales.

Is there a ray of hope - I read that all the shops except one are closing. Is this true - one shop is remaining - can't believe that as it wouldn't be economical. But if one is remaining open please can someone email me to let me know.

I'll have to travel down for the day before 22 December, boo hoo. Can't Kennedy's sell the sausage recipe to Wall's of Gloucester or, as another correspondent from the USA has written, someone buy up the machinery and get the business back into making loads of money.
I'll email Wall's, it's only about seven miles away from Cheltenham, and see if they're interested, but the Kennedys don't seem interested do they?

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bill, kent says...
5:38pm Fri 9 Nov 07

quote

my memories of this super old firm go back to ww II and their branch in Bromley. I used to love their l ovely big pots of fish paste. Please someone save this situation. What about the chance of a mail order business ?

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billy, croydon says...
8:12am Mon 26 Nov 07

It really doesnt suprise me that Kennedys are closing. Their Church street branch has really been a model of inefficiency, poor customer service and questionable hygeine. It amazes me how they will always send a member of staff for a break at the height of being busy. I also had to laugh when they placed their Christmas tips box out in October! Oh well, I for one won't miss them.

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chrissy, Berkshire says...
3:17pm Wed 28 Nov 07

This is too sad. They make the best sausages I've ever tasted, nothing even comes close. Pity they didn't have a website and do mail order, business would be booming.

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Mandy, South Bedfordshire says...
4:02pm Tue 11 Dec 07

I grew up in South London and have always been a huge fan of kennedy's savaloys and sausages. I made a pilgrimage to buy in a stock today and felt quite emotional, standing in the little shop in Bromley. Mail order would be great, but you have to be self advertising and that doesn't sound likely now, does it.

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Ding Yuan, Wallington, Surrey says...
12:47am Tue 18 Dec 07

What a shame, I have had Kennedy's sausages for 8 years since i came to the UK as a student. It's sausages are superb, the no.1 sausage maker! Uncle John took me there for the first time, he has been going to Kennedy's before WW2. The closure certainly is a very disappointing new for all of Kennedy lovers. With the modern way of living, the emergence of giant supermarket chains, small business such as Kennedy, is now undoubtedly facing enormous pressure. However, if I was the director, i would try my very best to make the business stay alive, try every possibility that could bring back a new Kennedy, a 21 centry Kennedy. Wouldn't be good to patent the recipe, and sell the intellectual rights to others, or alternatively, downsize the company, reduce the 9 stores to only one of two, and centralise the limit resources, establish and modern style kennedy shop. Choose a right location, enhance the product variety. Just modernise the way of running up the business, from product, price to promotion and place. In terms of promotion, mail order could be a good option, or develop online tunnels. After all, I think closure is the worse option that an entrepreneur would choose, sepcailly for a family business that has been going for over centuries. The worst of all, kennedy could try hard to supply sausages to the supermarkets, I have tried the major supermarkets' premium rang sussages, they just cannot compare with Kenney's. Would be a BIG shame to just close the shops, i am sure the founders would be very disappointed too. I am certainly going to Kennedy's Corydon store before 22nd to grab the last few pounds.

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Mark, Addiscombe says...
3:50pm Sun 23 Dec 07

Its a great shame. Another part of our heritage lost. I hope to never forget the flavours and textures of a Kennedy's Scotch Egg - they were the best. I wonder if their respective councils shall do anything to protect the interiors of any of the shops? No more Young's beer from Wandsworth, no more Kennedy's - not a lot left to attract one to Surrey Street anymore.

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Alan Edwards, Caterham, Surrey says...
11:20pm Mon 31 Dec 07

Kennedy's West Wickham shop featured on Channel 4's Three Minute Wonder mini documentary on Boxing Day, it showed the staff and views inside the shop, there were close-up shots of some Kennedy's Sausages !!
I shall miss their excellent Pork Pies.
This year there were no Christmas Puddings, they always came in old fashoined Crockery Pudding Basins, we have still got the empty basin in our kitchen cupboard from last year's pudding.

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Alan Edwards, Caterham, Surrey says...
10:20pm Tue 15 Jan 08

KENNEDY'S TRIBUTE WEBSITE
I have produced a tribute website that shows loads of information and photos of Kennedy's Shops, Sausages, Pies, Delivery Van, Shop fittings and even photos of our final fry-up of Kennedy's Pork Sausages. It is available for viewing at this URL
http://website.lineo
ne.net/~alan.c.edwar
ds/kennedystribute.h
tml
I hope you enjoy some Kennedy's nostalgia.
Ciao, Alan Edwards

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J V Moore, says...
11:00am Tue 11 Mar 08

What a great shame that the above have close down after so many years.

Their sausages were absolutely great where I'm unable to find a sausage that that has the same texture along with the peppery taste etc. Is anyone aware if they sold the recipe of the sausages along with other products on to another firm? I'm sure one of the behemoths like Tesco, Sainsbury etc could get them produced and sold through their stores in South London.

The family should have been more focal that they were having problems so a campaign could have been arrange to make the public aware to either use it or lose it., sadly the latter in this case.

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big al, sydenham says...
5:44pm Sun 6 Apr 08

Even as a young child I could tell the difference between a Kennedy's sausage and any other when my mother tried to con me.
After another average sausage lunch I felt compelled to write.I miss those bangers big time and can't believe that they have dissapeared for ever.Come on Kennedy's,get on it,or summer barbecues will never be the same.I for one would drive for miles to get mine.

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