Enterprising couple stacks Belmont Larder with tastiest local food

Both passionate about local food, Gary and Sarah decided to set up Belmont Larder Deli which opened its doors on Friday (May 5).

Gary, from Whiterock and Sarah, a native of Comber, decided to invest their savings and energies on creating a food shop at Belmont Road’s Strandtown and to offer a range of local produce, takeaway snacks, convenience dishes and freshly baked breads from Gary.

“I’ve been a chef for 20 years, the last 12 of which were spent working in restaurants owned by Ronan and Jennie Sweeney of Balloo Inns, two of NI’s most successful and widely respected hospitality entrepreneurs, explains Gary.

“This included six years at The Parsons Nose in Hillsborough and the same length of time as the head chef of The Poacher’s Pocket in Lisbane, near Killinchy.”

He first met Sarah at Poacher’s Pocket, a popular roadhouse with its own successful Poacher’s Pantry deli on the premises. Sarah had been working ‘front of house’ meeting, greeting and serving customers. She brings this extensive experience in customer care to their new Belmont Deli enterprise.

“As with many folk, Covid and the lockdowns gave us opportunity to look at our lives and what we wanted to achieve,” explains Gary. “We both wanted to run a business in food, the rethink led us to open an artisan food retail shop that would celebrate all our island has to offer from smaller producers.

“I had forged good working relationships with our local suppliers when at Poacher’s and so opening this shop to showcase their products directly is a bit of a dream come true for both of us.

“There are so many excellent and innovative foods now being produced particularly in NI by artisans and smaller ventures. So many have won UK Great Taste Awards and Irish National Food Awards….and deservedly so. We wanted to use our expertise and knowledge to introduce their superb foods to many more people here. We want to play our part in helping to raise awareness of what’s available here.”

They explored a number of potential sites for the deli and came down in favour of Belmont Road in east Belfast.

Strandtown, where they set up the shop, is a thriving and heavily populated urban community with a strong network of locally-owned and run stores that are shadowed by the imposing cranes of nearby Harland and Wolff shipyard. It’s among the best shopping districts of Belfast. In addition, the area boasts several good restaurants and excellent cafes.

“We have been warmly welcomed by the local community and fellow traders,” Gary says. “They support our remit to showcase local artisan producers no matter how small to shoppers. Many called in before the shop opened to promise support for our venture and to explore what we believe will be the most comprehensive range of artisan foods."

“I have fitted the site out with a full kitchen to produce my own range of ‘gastropub grab and go’ ready meals that will again all be made with local ingredients. These meals will be made using my experience as a chef and will be aimed at diners who enjoy fresh restaurant quality food but who maybe don’t have the time or the means to eat out,” he explains.

Another important feature of the new store is a chilled display showcasing locally caught seafood, “specifically landed by day boats from the Down harbours of Portavogie, Kilkeel and Strangford, the latter producing some of the finest prawns in Europe”.

“There will be local flax fed steaks, burgers, sausages and black pudding. We will also stock a wide range of Irish cheeses and charcuterie,” he adds. “Every morning there will be freshly baked breads, pastries and tray bakes on sale.”

"The breads will offer a selection of wheaten, focaccia, sourdough and soda bread. Pastries and pastisserie will include croissants, pain au chocolat, homemade tarts, pavlovas etc - all complimented by our wonderfully fresh orange juice machine service.”