We Hae Heritage!
One of our biggest points of pride here at ‘We hae meat’ is that we’re a genuine family business, through and through.
Perched on the rolling Ayrshire hillsides, Cairnhill farm has long been considered by locals as the home of the county’s finest cattle. Consistently high standards are the key to quality, and with the fourth generation of the Paton family now at the helm – or Alex and Carlyn to us – ‘We hae meat’ is definitely continuing to uphold decades of the family’s exceptional farming standards.
It all began with Alex’s great-grandfather, grandfather and father establishing their place as patrons of Ayr livestock market, where butchers from miles around would flock to buy their famously good quality beef cattle.
Regularly topping the livestock market at Ayr secured our family’s reputation for nurturing the finest cattle in the county; say ‘beef’ to the butchers of Ayrshire and they’ll point you towards Cairnhill!
With such a strong reputation behind him, Alex wanted to take Cairnhill’s amazing quality beef direct from his family farm to the people. The town butcher’s shop in Girvan, just down the road from the farm, had been linked to the Patons for generations. When the chance arose to buy it, Alex jumped at the opportunity and never looked back…
Making the bold decision to bring the shop to a new generation meant we needed to take a refreshed approach, and that in turn merited a new name! With our strong Ayrshire heritage, who else but local hero and national bard Robert Burns to lend us a title?
And so, ‘We hae meat’ Butchers was born…
It was essential that the integrity of the shop – local Ayrshire meat, traditional butchery techniques and an unfailing eye for quality – were upheld to retain the already loyal customers who’d been visiting the previous butcher for years. At the same time, we wanted to bring great quality produce to the wider Ayrshire community, showing them all the positives of buying locally-nurtured and butchered meats!
Three years later, as demand grew, ‘We hae meat’ Butcher moved to larger premises at Cairnhill Farm, but we still use the same traditional butchery techniques and methodology.
Every day our family – and extended family that is our wonderful team – endeavour to uphold the reputation for quality established by Patons past.
