Prince & Sons family butchers will celebrate 15 years of serving the Horsell community next month.

On 11 October 2011, owner Steve Prince picked up the keys to the shop on Horsell High Street and since then the business has grown alongside the community, building relationships with generations of customers — many of whom have supported the shop from its earliest days.

For Steve’s son Sam, the shop has quite literally been part of growing up. Sam first joined the family business as a Saturday boy at 13, learning the trade alongside his dad before joining full-time in 2017.

Today, he plays a leading role in the day-to-day running of the business and its future.

The Prince & Sons team have grown too. Harvey, who joined in 2021, has become a key member of the shop over the past five years, while Harry, the newest addition to the team, has recently begun his own journey in the trade.

Sam said: “When Dad first got the keys 15 years ago I don’t think any of us could have imagined what the shop would become. I basically grew up here!

“The biggest thank you has to go to our customers, Horsell has supported us incredibly. We have customers who have been coming through the door since the very beginning, and we’ve been lucky enough to see families grow up alongside the shop.

“Independent shops only survive because people choose to support them, and we never take that support for granted. Whether someone has been coming to us for 15 years or walked through our door for the first time this week, we genuinely appreciate every single person who shops with us.”

Steve added: “Fifteen years have gone incredibly quickly. We’ve seen plenty of changes over that time, but what hasn’t changed is our commitment to providing good-quality meat, proper service and being part of the local community. I’m immensely proud of what we’ve built and of the team we have today.”

The anniversary date will be particularly memorable for the Prince family — 11 October also happens to be Sam’s wedding day.

Sam joked: “Apparently I could have checked the shop anniversary before we booked the wedding! It certainly gives us two reasons to celebrate on 11 October.”

After 15 years on Horsell High Street, the family say they remain as ambitious about the future as ever.

“We’re incredibly proud to be a Horsell business,” Sam added. “Here’s to the next 15 years.”