Before the refrigerator became a basic household item, most people bought fresh food every day from their local butcher, baker, grocer and greengrocer. In 1885, there were 26 butchers shops in the fast-growing industrial suburbs of Bedminster and Redcliffe. Butchers at that time took personal pride in choosing the meat they sold: they bought from the Cattle Market or direct from a farmer, and often slaughtered the animals themselves.

Today, many people shop just once a week at a supermarket. Traditional butchers' shops do still survive, and over the last 20 years several halal butchers have opened in Bristol to serve the Muslim community. One was established by the then 17 year old Abdul Malik. He saw a gap in the market for a traditional butchers that could cater for the Muslim community as well as the other communities locally. His original shop grew into a small chain supplying halal meat and other foods to shoppers in Bristol and Cardiff.