The aroma of fresh baked goods is often all it takes to tempt passersby off the Main Street of Lisnaskea into the warmth of the Cherry Tree Home Bakery.

An institution in Lisnaskea, the bakery was started by Isobel and the late Norman Charles more than 50 years ago.

Mrs. Charles still keeps an eye on proceedings with the support of sons Glenn and Ashley.

Family is at the core of the work conducted in the business with Glenn Charles describing the ethos that makes the Cherry Tree a success.

“We care about what we produce, we care about what we do, it is our livelihood. The Charles family are the Cherry Tree, and the Cherry Tree is the Charles family.”

Mr. Charles maintained that the product produced, day in and day out, has stood the test of time.

“What makes us special is that the vast majority of everything we do is from scratch, using the basics: flour, margarine, oil, water and yeast.

“Our ingredients are the same ones used when there was proper home cooking and home baking.

“Our soda farl is the same soda farl that your granny made, that her granny made. We use a very basic, simple recipe.

“That goes through to our new products, such as our food to go - we don’t take shortcuts.”

Mr. Charles recalled how his father bought the bakery more than 50 years ago, and how when it was purchased there was a hole in the roof.

The family lived on the premises until 1985, and it is the same building where operations take place every day.

Describing his mother’s ongoing input - who Mr. Charles jokingly but warmly referred to as "quality control" - he said: “She will pull you up over standards, if things are not done right.

"She will be the first to say it, and she won’t mince her words either."

The business has evolved and expanded over the years. One of the most popular elements is 'food to go', and the café, which serves hot food.

In total, the business employs 25 people between full- and part-time staff across five different departments, which include the bakery, the decorating room, the ‘food to go’ kitchen, the shop where goods can be purchased, and the dispatch of wholesale products.

Mr. Charles said the bakery is one of the smaller departments in the business and employs several bakers, who are taught to bake in the Cherry Tree style of baking.

“We employ people who train to be bakers, we don’t employ bakers.

"Bakers with training will do it their way, but we want to show people our way, and what we think is the right way."

The business does not have the same emphasis on the wholesale side of baking that it once had.

Mr. Charles added that margins for wholesale bakeries are “extremely tight”, and he noted that costs in the baking as well as the hospitality trade are extremely high at the moment.

“Costs at the minute, if you were not careful, could put you out of business.”

He described how this has changed some of the day-to-day operation of the business.

“You have to bear it [costs] in mind, it is a pain. Now, you are day and daily costing things, where previously it was every six months.”

Almost all elements of baking have risen in price, he said: "Flour stayed pretty stable, margarine and sugar went up and down.”

One surprising rise was the cost of sultanas: “Before Christmas, at the time you need them, their price went through the roof!

“A box that was previously £18, you were paying £36 for.”

Mr. Charles said that the high costs are being seen right across the business, including in the price of meat.

“In the kitchen [and café], which is the growth part of the business, ten kilos of chicken went from costing £30 to almost £60. It has come down since - but never back to £30.”

He acknowledged that this is a universal trend right across the board. “Anyone who is in the catering business will have seen this,” he added.

Reflecting on how the current state of the economy is impacting business, Mr. Charles said: “We are weathering the storm; it’s not as serious as the crash back in 2009 was.”

The family had purchased buildings next door to the original bakery to extend, but when the 2008 recession hit, plans were put on hold before being realised in 2016.

Mr. Charles explained: “We plucked up the courage and took a gamble and extended into next door. We never looked back. We knew we’d never have a problem.

“We’ve broadened our whole appeal, and we haven’t got all our eggs in one basket. If we take a hit on bread, then we can push out on catering.”

One other element that shows the diversity of the business is the Friday barbeque, as well as ‘Dirty Fridays’ – where the popular dish of 'Dirty Fries' is on the menu.

Mr. Charles said that other ideas will come to fruition soon, but remained tight-lipped as to what future plans for the Cherry Tree might entail.

He concluded: “We have other plans in the pipeline, and we have just had to sit on them.”