A CULCHETH sandwich shop has been named as a gold winner in The Sammies, described as ‘The Oscars of the sandwich industry’.

Brunch, on Warrington Road, came up trumps in the Independent Retailer Award as it won gold.

Ian Barker, owner of Brunch, said: “Some of our staff have been here 12 years and for us to have been through the Covid situation and to come out where we are, we are really pleased that we have achieved this.

“We were fortunate enough to be shortlisted with another five independents.

“It was great to go down to the Royal Lancaster Hotel and to be given an award on an evening where there are categories like best food to go or best motorway services with all the big chains, it’s great.

“You can learn a lot from them as well.”

The 42-year-old has had the business for nearly 14 years and he believes Brunch stands out due to the emphasis on customer service.

“We are good at what we do as we have been doing it for so long. We have learnt along the way,” added Ian.

“We love customer service and we put our customers before everything. We pride ourselves on going the extra mile.

“When a guest comes in our shop we like to treat them like a family member and if we can make their day by offering them a great experience then we’ve done our job.”

Brunch – which has previously been nominated for Sandwich Designer of the Year where its ‘King of Spain’ was a finalist – has something for everyone.

Ian continued: “We have a philosophy that although our menu isn’t the largest, we feel that whatever your food mood is we have something for you.

“We make a lot from scratch and that’s what might set us apart.

“I believe our unique selling point in our business is the fact that if you walked in and wanted a healthy salad we make everything fresh in front of you.

“The next day is you wanted your filthy Friday you could have sausage, bacon, egg and melted cheese on a toasted wrap for example – we have quite a range.

“We also serve great coffee which is quite rare in sandwich shops.”