Our Story

The business was established in September 1956 by Louis Herterich Snr and his wife Teresa on Ballymahon St, Longford Town. The Herterich family are originally from Braviera in southern Germany. The first pork butcher shop was opened in Naas, County Kildare in 1912 by Louis’s father George. Louis’s was part of a large family that spread out all over Ireland, opening shops and bringing traditional German butchering skills with them.

Ballymahon Street was the location of Louis’s manufacturing facility, butchers and family home. A true Artisan food producer, Louis made the finest pork sausages, pastries, cured and cooked meats, whilst Teresa, an absolute master of customer service, together with the front of house staff would sell these wonderful products to customers. Often customers would travel from different counties to buy and to avail of the meats and their traditional recipes. We still use the exact same recipes and have the same wonderful customer service that is steeped in traditional values to this day!


Pigs were purchased by Louis on a Sunday from farmers and small holdings in the area. This was often done house to house, village to village by bicycle long before a van was purchased. The pig had to be in the right condition and finished well to be considered worthy of use by the master butcher. There were days he might cycle 50 miles before finding suitable animals. The farmer would deliver his pigs to the old Longford slaughterhouse on Great Water Sreet early on a Monday morning and thus began the process of the manufacture of a large range of artisan products.

Due to the popularity of our products the premises underwent a major expansion of shop floor and manufacturing space in 1982, with the first floor former living area being transformed into offices, stores, and a test kitchen. We became the provider of choice for many hotels, restaurants and shops in the Midlands area.

To meet our customer demand, we underwent a further expansion in 1999. The entire premises was knocked with the exception of the front façade which was retained and the original stonework cleaned to remain true to our traditional roots and values.

We also added a cafe which sold the food products from the butchery. The restaurant has traded successfully for 13 years and was renovated in 2012 and renamed “Sambos café”.

Our family tradition continues today with Louis Jnr, who apprenticed himself to his father for over a dozen years before he passed away in 1995 and his wife Caroline at the helm. They pride themselves on being innovative by bringing fresh new ideas in food and service to the people of Longford and surrounding areas, yet they also strive to remain true to those Herterich traditional values of service and quality.