UK Expat Foodies On Assignment To New York Needn’t Worry About Supplies

For British expats wondering how they’ll stay healthy on typical American foodstuffs, the answer is right there in New York.

Famous both with American anglophiles and New York’s sizeable British expat community, the city’s long-established Myers of Keswick grocery store is the answer to UK foodie homesickness in a big way. A reassuring glace at the store’s traditionally British-styled frontage and a step into the interior reveals just about every British culinary favourite you can imagine, from Weetabix through Bird’s Custard, HP Sauce and traditional Cumberland sausages to much-loved home country favourite scones, cakes and other fattening treats. The store’s interior is also traditionally British, with posters showing typical scenes, the Union Jack and a glass display case holding home-made goodies such as shepherds’ pies, sausage rolls, British bacon and even black pudding.

The owners’ British roots go deep, with the original butcher’s shop opened in the Lake District town of Keswick by the present owner’s grandfather. The store’s transfer to New York took place in 1985, with granddaughter Jenny and her husband taking over just 11 years ago. Many of the traditional recipes used for today’s favourites originated in the early years of the Keswick shop. Never intending to take over the store as she’d studied marketing at university and was working in the fashion industry, Jenny’s now happily immersed in the family business, using her marketing experience and skills to great effect.

She’d wanted to expand but, realising the available kitchen space was too small to cope, she’s now concentrating on wholesaling a selection of favourite products. Obviously, British expats make up a good proportion of her customers, but she’s realised that brand loyalties and tastes are changing and is adapting the range to suit millennials as well as traditionalist British foodies. The store is now a famous New York culinary institution a long way from its original Keswick beginnings, and even has a FedEx shipping option. Jenny’s now working on a website featuring online orders and is planning its launch for later in the year.