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06
Aug 2020
Ripon's Sturdy pies stand up to coronavirus
Sturdy Foods, a 90-year-old Ripon company built on the solid foundations of pie making, is to create new jobs after it switched to making pizzas during lockdown.
Founded by James Sturdy's great grandfather in 1930, the business suffered major setbacks with a factory fire in 2019, followed by this year's coronavirus crisis. Restaurants and bars which account for 95% of the company's turnover stopped buying pies.
Mr Sturdy, who was determined not to close the factory and to support his staff, made the decision to look for new opportunities - a move that has brought a dramatic change in the company's fortunes.
He said:
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The pizza line proved such a success that the company has also launched a new range of pies, this time selling directly to the public through a dedicated new website. Yorkshire Handmade Pies was born and offers a range of hand-crafted products.
Focusing again on local suppliers and supporting other local firms including R & J’s Yorkshire’s Finest Butchers, they are now delivering nationwide.
Mr Sturdy added:
With restaurants and bars opening again at the start of July the next challenge for the Sturdy Foods, based at Barker Business Park, is its ability to continue to supply its previous customer base.
The company has now taken on three additional staff, with plans to take on another three before Christmas, taking the number of employees to 13.
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