OTHER ENTERPRISES
Hunt's Supermarket
The Hunt's family-run supermarket opened its doors in November 2019 and offers a wide range of locally sourced products, everyday goods, and brands exclusive to Hunt's Food Group. Hunt's opened its first retail store in Sherborne at Tinny’s Lane in the 1950s and the Hunt's Supermarket still sells a wide range of frozen goods across its 27 freezers, in addition to chilled and ambient goods.
Encouraging conscious shopping with refill stations, zero waste dispensers and plastic-free products. The supermarket prides itself on championing local producers, offering unique products, great variety from the core business of 9500 product lines, and great customer service. The site was opened by Lynne Hunt who works with a wide range of local suppliers and is managed by Sandra Batten so please pop in and visit the team when you can!
Thorner's Farm Shop
The Thorner's Farm Shop opened in 1990 and was designed around a large butchery counter that resembled founder, Jon Thorner's vision of creating products from locally sourced high-welfare meat, ensuring the best possible taste. The shop also stocked a wide range of frozen and locally sourced chilled and ambient products.
Due to the expansion of the wholesale business in October 2020, Coral Hunt opened the new Thorner's Farm Shop next to the Den. This stocks the entire Thorner's range and numerous high-quality local products, clothing, and gifts. The site is run by Vernon Barnes and his team and please go and visit Colin at the butchery counter for a fabulous array of products!
The Den at Thorner's
The Den, named by Jon Thorner’s daughter Natalie, opened in October 2010. The coffee shop based at Pylle specialises in great coffee, breakfasts, and lunches and can be hired out for events. The menu is based on fresh local produce in addition to showcasing Thorner's butchery and homemade products made in the kitchens next door and the site is infamous for the best-cooked breakfast in Somerset!
The Den exclusively uses the Roast 440 coffee brand to produce the best coffee that can be enjoyed in the indoor or outdoor seating areas. Lou Middle and her team pride themselves on excellent customer service and creating a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. The Den also has a Childhay Manor Ice Cream scooping station which is not to be missed!
Storage
Hunts began doing frozen storage in the 1950s after Michael Hunt built a 1000 pallet coldstore at its then Head Office in Cheap Street Sherborne. After selling the dairy business and moving to the newly built site in Ludbourne Road in 1976 Hunts predominantly used the site for frozen storage before growing its retail frozen food operation. This combined with increased demand for storage largely driven by storing intervention butter led the business to purchase its site in Station Road Stalbridge in 1992. Five years later in 1997 an extension was added and the facility now holds 3500 pallets.
In June 2017 Hunts Foodservice purchased Judd’s Transport Limited taking on the businesses site in Hazelbury Bryan just 8 miles from the Stalbridge site due to further demand. In September 2022 Hunts began storing and distributing out of its Nottingham site enabling the business 5500 pallets of ambient storage space. Today Hunts Food Group carries out ambient, chilled and frozen pallet storage for a wide range of customers across the South of England and Midlands. Hunts also carry out transportation for customers and has dealt with many of its existing customer base for over fifty years.
The business is overseen by Hunts Legends Nick Blake and Peter Martin who have both worked in the business for over 35 years. If you are interested in using Hunts Food Group as a storage solution, please email enquiries@huntsfoodgroup.co.uk or ring the office on 01935 810210.
ELM FARM
When Richard Hunt married Lynne Collis in 1990 they lived on adjoining farms. Richard lived at Manor Farm and Lynne at Elm Farm. These two farms merged at the turn of the century when they both bought out their respective in-laws carrying on the family tradition which has seen two grandparents, two great grandparents and two great great grandparents all previously farming the land, stretching back over 100 years. Thomas, Coral and Finn Hunt now live on part of the farm, making them the fifth generation to be living there.
Elm Farm nestles in the heart of the Blackmore Vale, South Somerset and is on rich grass growing ground. The milk produced by the 350 Friesian cows is sold to local cheesemakers Barbers who the Hunt family have been supplying since 1990. A range of differing Barbers cheeses are available through the Hunts Food Group and can be found in The Hunts Supermarket and the Thorners Farm Shop.
All decisions made concerning the long-term future of the farm are carefully considered enabling it to be preserved for future generations. With that in mind in November 2022 trees were planted on the poorer quality ground to support Hunts Food Group’s goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2025. A 68 strong team from Hunts supported Wanderlands our environmental specialists by planting 8 acres of native broadleaf woodland trees.
The Farm also hosts open farm Saturday for the Hunts team in October each year. This is a great opportunity for the team and their families to socialise, enjoy tractor and gator rides, see the farm animals, walk their dogs, enjoy a train ride around Gartell Light Railway and share some food and drinks with colleagues.
As a family we strongly believe farming is a balance. We are all incredibly lucky to live on the Farm and for it to be our way of life, but at the same time we are all aware that we are custodians of the land. There is a balance in producing quality food whist being responsible to the environment.
WESSEX ROYALE HOTEL
The Best Western Wessex Royale has been part of the Hunt's Food Group since July 2002 and is run by Alan Bailey and his fabulous team. The Georgian building, built as an old coaching inn in 1756, has been effortlessly transformed into modern luxury accommodation boasting 29 rooms and a function facility.
The hotel is close to the Jurassic Coast and in the heart of Dorchester, making it a perfect spot for a relaxing break or business trip. The hotel champions local produce as far as possible, with other ingredients delivered from the Hunt's Food Group Sherborne depot. The hotel also provides the perfect spot for suppliers and customers visiting Hunt's Food Group from further afield.
The hotel has been recognised for its exceptional service, quality accommodation and food and has been given the following Awards:
Visit England 3 Star Silver Award
Visit England Silver Award for high quality of accommodation and customer service.
Visit England Rose Award
Visit England Breakfast Award