Lewis & Cooper Ltd is an upmarket delicatessen based in the market town of Northallerton, in North Yorkshire.[3] It was established in 1899 by George Lewis and Binks Barton Cooper, and is still owned and operated by Lewis' direct descendants.[3]
The Northallerton store building dates back to the seventeenth century.[6] In 1899, both George Henry Lewis and Binks Barton Cooper worked as managers at a high street grocery business in Northallerton.[7] After the owner decided to sell the failing business, Lewis and Cooper executed a management buyout.[8] The company was incorporated in January 1903. Cooper, a sleeping partner, sold his share of the business in 1914, but the Lewis & Cooper name remained.[3] The company has sold hampers since 1936.[9]
The customer base began to dwindle by the end of the 1970s, due to the rise of the supermarkets.[10] In response, Lewis & Cooper began to reposition itself from a traditional grocers into a specialist upmarket food retailer.[11]
In 1999, tea rooms were opened on the first floor of the Northallerton store, in what was formerly the manager's quarters.[12] That same year, the store was featured on the newly released Yorkshire Monopoly board game.[13] A smaller store opened in Yarm in 2001, which closed in June 2020.[14]AHarrogate store opened in December 2011, but closed down in January 2013, following disappointing sales figures.[15]
Lewis & Cooper carries specialist items not often stocked by the major supermarkets, such as Chatka crab, Russian caviar and quail eggs.[16] The Northallerton store has 32,000 different product lines, versus the supermarket average of 5,000, located across 6,000 square feet.[16][17] 25 per cent of the Northallerton store's stock is sourced from the Yorkshire area.[18] Rhiannon Batten of The Independent described the store as "one of the UK's most famous food emporiums."[19]
^The Independent (London) September 16, 2006 Saturday Final Edition THE50BEST Food shops; From fish to fowl, chops to cheese, organic, homegrown or exotic, Britain offers a cornucopia of produce. Caroline Stacey tucks in BYLINE: Caroline Stacey SECTION: FEATURES; Pg. 4
