Why Ripon’s next brown tourism signpost could be for an online butcher’s shop

An online meat retailer in Ripon is looking to take its place alongside Ripon Cathedral and Fountain’s Abbey by applying to North Yorkshire County Council for a brown directional tourist sign.
Farmison & Co’s mock-up using Google Maps, showing how the brown tourism sign it has aplied for might look on the nearby Ripon bypass roundabout.Farmison & Co’s mock-up using Google Maps, showing how the brown tourism sign it has aplied for might look on the nearby Ripon bypass roundabout.
Farmison & Co’s mock-up using Google Maps, showing how the brown tourism sign it has aplied for might look on the nearby Ripon bypass roundabout.

If Farmison & Co is successful, the sign will go up on the junction of the A61 and Bondgate Green, putting the business firmly on the tourist map as it establishes itself as a destination for visitors to the county.

It made the application after its new boutique butcher – Cut by Farmison & Co – was a runaway success in its first month of operation.

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Cut was opened in July by Welcome to Yorkshire, which hoped it would draw in tourists to Ripon and has already attracted guests from as far away as Cornwall and Caithness and day-trippers from across the North.

Turning retail into a visitor experience, Cut features a glass wall so shoppers can watch the master butcher at work. It also features a bespoke butcher’s service as well as in-store tastings and sampling of new products.

John Pallagi, founder and CEO of Farmison & Co, said: “There’s probably no other butcher in the world showcasing heritage breed meat in the way Cut does.

“We’re delighted at the launch, and we’re excited for the way in which we can provide a platform for Yorkshire meat and the rich heritage of farming around Ripon and the pastures of the Dales and North York Moors.

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“It’s already clear Cut can grow to be a stop on the Yorkshire tourist trail as well as providing a convenient service to locals here in Ripon.”

Founded in 2011, Farmison & Co is on a mission to encourage people to eat better meat and specialises in heritage breeds beef, including Red Poll, Aberdeen Angus, Shorthorn, Galloway, Dexter and Sussex that allow farmers to use long-established conservation methods.

It now employs more than 100 people in Ripon and supports over 35 farms across Yorkshire and the north of England.

Farmison & Co was named Online Butcher of the Year award for the third time in 2020. Last month it was also named as one of Yorkshire’s top butchers in the Countryside Alliance’s Rural Oscars.