J&J Graham of Penrith

The business has undergone many transformations over 230 years but has always had a presence in this area.

Enjoying a loyal local customer base from Penrith and surrounding villages we also benefit from the many visitors to the Eden Valley.

Grahams is currently run by a local father daughter team, Alan Reading and Joanne Ashby and their 12 strong team, who have increased footfall and sales every year over the past 10 years.

Like several other quality local retailers Grahams have concentrated on providing great service, excellent products in an interesting setting.

‘Much of the food and drink we stock is from Cumbrian artisan producers and we also make our own fresh bakery goods every day.

As Penrith never had a large number of national retailers and has a high proportion of independent local businesses it has not suffered as many closures as other shopping areas.

Visitors enjoy the ambiance and character of Penrith and their numbers seem to be increasing year on year based on our experience. This observation could be confirmed by a detailed analysis of footfall and dwell time for Penrith and Eden over the past few years.

Our view is that Penrith and Eden Valley is a lovely place to do business with a population of friendly, hardworking and caring people, we hope to trade here for another 200 years!’