What are your thoughts on this? Comment below

Good old-fashioned service arriving with the Mad Butcher

"It'll be good for Taranaki."

LYN HUMPHREYS

Last updated 05:00 27/02/2013

Share

The Mad Butcher will move into the old Matador Meats building

The Mad Butcher is carving his way into Taranaki.

"It'll be good for Taranaki. The policy is to buy the best quality and deliver the best price to the market," the original Mad Butcher, Sir Peter Leitch, told the Taranaki Daily News yesterday.

Sir Peter sold the business to his then-chief executive Mike Morton but, as one of the best known personalities in New Zealand, he remains on the payroll to front their advertising campaign.

He might even make it down to open the New Plymouth shop, he said.

It's taken him a long time to set up shop in Taranaki even though he bought all his meat from the Waitara freezing works in the early days.

The New Plymouth shop should be open for business by the middle of the year.

The shop will slot into the old Matador Meats building, originally established by former New Plymouth butcher Pat Scannell.

"Yes, it's Pat's old shop at Matador Meats," Mad Butcher's operation manager Dan Adams confirmed from Auckland yesterday.

In the closeknit world of New Zealand butchery, Mr Adams said he knew Mr Scannell from the time he headed Retail Meat NZ.

In opening up the franchise in Taranaki, the Mad Butcher was answering the call of the region's meatlovers, Mr Adams said.

"We get more emails from New Plymouth and Nelson than anywhere else asking us when we are opening up," he said.

The Mad Butcher had 36 stores nationwide and the intention was to have an additional six to eight by the end of the year - including New Plymouth and Nelson.

The franchise prided itself in being open seven days, from 7am to 7pm and having skilled staff on hand at all times, Mr Adams said.

The aim was to provide the same personal customer service that the local butcher gave in days gone by. This included giving away cocktail sausages and sliced luncheon to the children.

Sir Peter remains the chairman of the Mad Butcher and Suburban Newspapers Community Trust, which has raised well over $1 million for charities.

He has good connections with Taranaki and counts "the coach" Steve McKean and rugby league identity Howie Tamati as good friends and says Tamati's mother, Esme, is a very close friend.

While the new shop is good news for the region's meatlovers, New Plymouth's Suzanne Grae store, in Centre City, is one of 19 that will close around the country starting in May.

The retail fashion brand announced the closures, which will affect 100 staff, this week.

Wednesday Stuff Article

You're in the culture capital

TARYN UTIGER

Last updated 05:00 06/03/2013

Share

0

TARANAKI DAILY NEWS

Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Chris Finlayson says New Plymouth is becoming a cultural capital

New Plymouth is positioning itself to become New Zealand's capital of culture, Chris Finlayson says.

The Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage was in town yesterday singing the praises of the province to the regional branch of the Institute of Directors.

Mr Finlayson said Taranaki was set to benefit from its investment in the arts, highlighting tourist dollars brought into the region and the potential increase in jobs.

"You are the New Zealand home of Womad, the New Zealand home of Tropfest and you will soon be the home of Len Lye. This province is on the map and that will continue to make a tangible difference to Taranaki's economy."

Mr Finlayson, who was on the Creative NZ board for six years, praised the work of the local council and arts community, saying they had created an arts scene that was looked up to nationally.

"What you have is and should be envied by the rest of the country. You are very, very carefully positioning arts as an important part of your province's future. The battle is being won here," he said.

Finlayson, who spoke fondly about attending the Fleetwood Mac concert at the Bowl of Brooklands in 2009, was delighted the Len Lye Centre had been given the go ahead.

"People will look back in years to come and wonder why it took so long. The Crown is happy to support this province with this venture," Mr Finlayson said.

In June 2011, Mr Finlayson announced financial support of $4 million from the Government's Regional Museums Policy for capital construction costs for the centre.

Mr Finlayson said Womad had bought $3.5m into the province in 2003, but nearly $11m into Taranaki in 2012, and this was likely to occur with the Len Lye Centre as well.

"The centre will be of considerable benefit to Taranaki. It's a strong brand and a big drawcard. Visitors will come from far and wide and out-of-towners spend considerably more money," he said.

The centre was set to bring in another $3.4m a year in additional spending.

Mr Finlayson said the increased visitor spending in Taranaki could offer up the equivalent of 40 fulltime jobs in the first few years.

He spoke about a report by the Business and Economic Research Limited, which predicted potential spend by visitors to the Len Lye Centre of up to $9.5m a year, leading to 138 jobs in the city.

"Citizens are beginning to understand the benefit of the arts and the drawcard they present to out-of-town visitors. It's a big boost," he said.

"Art presents significant and positive social outcomes as well and these continue to build a stronger community.
Mr Finlayson said any discussion about the economic worth of art should include the cultural benefits, which like good economics, help to maximise the wellbeing of the community.

"The arts are worthy of investment," he said.

- © Fairfax NZ News