Do you regularly use traditional High Street shops such as butcher's and bakeries ?

[IndigoSpritz]

I do. The bakery I go to most often is in the next town down the road and I always buy flatcakes and burger baps there. I occasionally buy extras such as chocolate cookies or scones. This particular bakery is somewhat stuck in a time warp judging by the display cases and fixtures, but they do well. All the cakes, tarts, cream buns and so on are fresh every morning and always seem to sell out.

I use a few different butchers for burgers, sausages, gammon, bacon and savouries like pork pies and pasties. They're all good and it's a privilege to have these shops to hand.

I know all these foods can be bought in the supermarkets but I prefer to pay more for higher quality. Of course, I appreciate not everyone can do do. I should add that I'm happy with a Hovis or supermarket granary loaf for toasting.

Yes and no. The local ones shut about about 4pm so are no use to me. I would use them if they were open after work.

I do sometimes use the butchers on a Saturday if I get chance. I don’t usually use the bakers as it’s not very good.

Yes, I use the bakers in my village and the butchers in the next.

We also get out milk delivered from a farm 3 miles away.

Veggie so no need of a butcher.
The only local baker an 'Artisan' produces bread is tough as old boots. Tried it a couple of times and gave up as it was just so difficult to eat.

Good for you
Some people have to budget and this would just be an option they don't have

No.

I can’t eat carbs so bakeries are out for me, and as for a butcher, I work very long hours, i’d Starve before I actually managed to get to one when I was free to shop!

I do, DH doesn’t. I can’t walk past a good grocers or butchers without having a good look and am lucky to pass quite a few in my everyday routine.

My exception is Wholefoods.

I use the butchers I find that works out much better value generally.

The only bakers we have locally is pretty rubbish and I don’t eat a lot of that stuff anyway so don’t tend to.

I use the farm shop for fruit and veg when I can get there

I use the greengrocers, that's the only local shop we have left now though :(
I'd 100% use butcher and baker if we had one.

Withall - the OP acknowledges this is their post

I'm increasingly trying to do so OP - we have two great Farm Shops nearby and I try to stock up on meat there. A bit of a further drive is an excellent butcher but the extra distance means I don't use it as much. I would like to move to fewer meat meals but better quality/welfare assured.

There is a farm shop online that I have bought poultry from - they are free range and excellent quality and actually good value (cheaper than Sainsbury's) but I don't have the freezer space to buy much in quantity - and it seems a bit extravagant to get home delivered chickens on a whim (and having to pay a delivery charge) However, its just occurred to me that perhaps I could negotiate a monthly delivery....I bought my Christmas rooster from here - it was delicious!

There are a couple of bakers that I buy delicious pastries and nice breads from - but one is a new business and has limited opening hours so I do tend to revert to the supermarket.

Fish - about a 20min drive away is an amazing fishmonger - I wish it were closer! The fish stall in our market is good but not as good as fishmonger - I probably still buy most fish at the supermarket.

Forgot to add - we do have a brilliant grocers in town...I really should make the extra effort to go there. For a small shop they carry a great range...

Yes, but am not in the UK. Pretty standard and not necessarily more expensive to use these shops where I live.
2 greengrocers, 2 bakers and 2 butchers within short walking distance. But I also use the supermarkets (smallish local high street ones).

Not usually no. I don't have time to go and it's quite expensive. I've been to the farm shop today though. Off work next week so more likely to actually eat what I've bought!

I use the butchers I find that works out much better value generally.

Yes! I get free bones for soup and at the end of the day they give you extra! Same for fruit and veg at my local grocers. They do “vegetable bags” of mixed produce and they’re great for the slow cooker or to make soup.

I do. I go every Saturday. Buy packs of rolls from the bakery. £1.50 for 10 [kids packed lunches] and a couple of loaves for the freezer. Local butcher is amazing. All locally sourced meat. Tells you an a black board where its from that week. Mince is great value. 4lb for £9.99, they also do odd things like diced mutton and venison. I paid £5/lb for mutton and £6/lb for venison. I work to a pretty tight budget and this is the most economical way. Only exception is chicken which is way cheaper in the super market. I will always try to use them

Yes, I do, although they don't have shops much anymore they tend to be on our indoor market.
I go several times a week, lovely atmosphere, everybody friendly with time to chat.
I'd hate to have to have what the supermarkets sell.
All local produce too, so hopefully we'll be ok post brexit.

only the greengrocers.
the others have opening times that mean they are shut when I go shopping, i.e. outside normal office hours

We do try to shop with independent food retailers, farmers’ markets etc whenever possible but they don’t make it easy for people like us who work FT during the week.

Sorry, Mr Butcher & Mr Baker, but if you open at 9 and close at 5 it isn’t physically possible for me to visit your shop. There is Saturday morning, of course, but we generally have loads of other stuff to do which means there just isn’t time to go to lots of shops.

Too many shopkeepers are still stuck in an outdated mentality which assumes that women are the main shoppers and that we all have time to shop on weekdays while the men are out at work. They have been far too slow in moving with the times.

Not high street as such, I mostly use Ocado home delivery but there is a really good farm shop about 15 minutes drive away that I go to around once a month

No, I'm disabled and most of them are not wheelchair accseable. I do online groceries through Asda as it also saves me energy. I used to use the small shops when I could though

Same as gastropod

There are bakeries and butchers all over our small town. One bakery-cafe just opened opposite our house and the guy makes AMAZING carrot cake 🤩

It isn't unusual to visit three or four shops on a shopping trip: butcher's, baker's, fishmonger's, greengrocer's, sewing shop, shoe repairs, stationer's, pet shop for doggy treats

We sometimes go to the big out of town supermarket, but it is so joyless.

Thanks everyone. Good to see there is widespread acknowledgement of the traditional food shops, even if not all can avail themselves, for whichever good reason. The bakery I use is, as I said, a little old-fashioned but it doesn't affect the product quality and there is none of the artisan nonsense in there.

There is a farm shop locally but, TBH, anything I can get there I can get in the various butchers. We don't have a greengrocer's or fishmongers locally any more but both come to the local markets a few times a week and seem to do a roaring trade which is nice to see. I often see local cafe owners and restaurateurs buying supplies from the greengrocers stall.

I use a butcher about twice a month. I'm trying to transition to eating a mostly plant based diet though so probably not for much longer. The local greengrocer will benefit instead.

I'd love to live somewhere with a good range of independent shops. I miss the high street that was two minutes from my house when I was a child. It had a butcher, fishmonger,bakery, toy shop, hardware store, pharmacist, corner shops, gift shop, greengrocer,a wonderful Italian deli, good Italian cafes etc. Almost everything we could want. The shops here are ok, much better than some but I envy people who have a full range on their doorstep.

I knew and liked pretty much every store owner too and have fond memories of most. There's a lot to be said for that sense of community. This was in the 90s btw.

No. I don't have a car and there arw none near me. I can't afford the £5 for the bis to use them. I did use the greengrocer, but I think I was the only person who did, so it closed down. I would if they were in walking distance.

Yes. We only eat meat once a week so I buy quality.
We have a terrific greengrocers, fishmongers, butchers and cheese shop 10 mins away.