Arthur`s celebrate 25 years

Tony Park is celebrating 25 years of Arthur`s in 2010.

Arthur`s Wholefood shop was opened in Dereham in 1985. In those days, flour, oats and rice were among the few items that were sold as organically grown.  That first winter, they were brought a sack of organic onions from Simmons of Scarning and the connection with local fresh produce was started. At that time, there was no requirement for certification and co-founder Tony says he was happy to sell goods on trust. As the movement flourished and demand increased, Soil Association Certification became necessary and welcome. By the time Tony left the shop in 2002, much of the shop`s floor space was given over to fresh organic fruit and vegetables and Tony went to work for his supplier, Hughes Organics.

Grahame Hughes was a pioneer of organic growing and vegetable box delivery in the 1990s. He still grows under glass at Bunwell, but runs an organic wholesale and box packing company with wife Lizzie, based at Besthorpe, near Attleborough

In late 2002, Lizzie gave up a small, Friday afternoon delivery round in south Norfolk, which Tony eagerly took over and Arthur`s Organic Deliveries was born. Within a couple of years, Tony had built up the round to a full time business and had to stop working for Grahame. 

Competition and then the recession put pressure on the business, but a week after moving to Norwich in September last year, Salle Moor Hall farm decided to give up their box deliveries in Norwich and Tony leapt at the chance to incorporate their customers with his own. Since then he has been working flat out to keep the customers happy and regularly supplied. His daughter Lucy, now helps with deliveries in the Dereham area and her husband Vicente has built him a website at www.arthursorganics.co.uk.

Delivery areas include: Norwich, Dereham, Botesdale, Diss, Long Stratton, Wymondham & Attleborough (as well as other nearby areas).