FAMILY run sandwich shop Franklin’s brings an authentic taste of northern England to Swindon, with such traditional dishes as pease pudding, and fresh meat collected from the George Franklin family butcher’s in Sunderland.

The roast sandwich shop, at The Crossing in the Brunel Centre, is open seven days a week serving freshly made sandwiches, paninis and toasties, salad bowls and wraps – as well as sausage rolls, and in the colder weather, homemade soup. Nine months after opening, Franklin’s is proving a hit with shoppers, local workers and visitors to Swindon.

“It’s quality,” said owner Debra Nell, from Westlea. “Quality comes first.”

Debra, 49, was born in Sunderland, where, aged just 17, she ran a sandwich shop for her father, George Franklin. Debra wanted to be with boyfriend Steve Nell, who had moved Swindon when the Link Centre opened, 32 years ago, to play ice hockey for the Swindon Wildcats

She followed him to Swindon a year later, and 30 years ago they married. Steve is now managing director of the ice hockey team. The couple had three children, and for 19 years Debra ran a Kleeneze business, but the sudden death of her mother Catherine caused Debra to rethink her life.

“That was the reason I opened the shop. Last June my mother died. I spent a lot of time lying around on the sofa feeling sorry for myself, and my husband said why don’t you try to do something different?

“I did all my health the hygiene exams and pushed myself out of my comfort zone. We started looking at a shop at the back of Boot’s but there was too much repair work to be done. Walking through here, my husband picked up a leaflet (about The Crossing) and said, have a look at this.

“We were the first to open.”

The name of sandwich bar reflects Debra’s maiden name and, of course, the name of her father’s butcher’s shop. Aged 75, he is still working, and every fortnight Debra drives up to Hendon in Sunderland with three fridges in her car, to collect the meat she uses in her shop.

“Every two weeks I go on a meat run,” she smiled. “It’s five hours each way. It’s proper butcher’s meat, with nothing added, no water, no rubbish – just proper nice, beautiful stuff. I get all my sausages and saveloys and everything made by him. It’s the quality. I could go to another butcher here, but when you have grown up with the best, you don’t want to compromise that. I know where it comes from.”

She also serves pease pudding, another speciality of north east England. This is a savoury porridge of split yellow peas boiled up into a mash. Debra said her pease pudding was popular with vegetarians new to the dish, but also brought back memories of the past for older customers who had also grown up in the north.

Debra, who loves chatting with her customers, said one 99-year-old woman had tried the pease pudding: “She said it took her right back to her childhood. I tell my dad all these little stories – he loves it.”

Franklin’s is open every day of the week, and Debra’s assistant is her son-in-law TJ Bohane. All three of her children have passed their health the hygiene exams so they are all able to help out from time to time. Her son Aaron is also an ice hockey player, so Debra said she spends most of her time between the shop and the Link Centre. She would also like to expand Franklin’s too.

“I’ve three grandchildren too, so I have a busy little life,” she said.

The shop is open 10am to 4pm Monday to Saturday, and 11am to 2pm on Sundays. Visit the Facebook page, Franklins Swindon.