Fleeing conscription and religious persecution at the end of the Nineteenth Century Emmanuel Schnaiderman arrived in this country with the clothes he stood up in and a drive and determination to build a better life.
From the humble beginnings of a bicycle with a basketful of chickens strapped to the front, the business slowly built until Manny was able to stop 'pedalling' his wares and open a shop in the East End's Redchurch Street, where his two sons soon followed him into the thriving business.
As the eldest of six, Louis decided to branch out on his own to provide for his wife Anne and growing family and opened his own shop (pictured left,) at 148 Victoria Park Road in Hackney where, until the Blitz, the family lived above the shop.
The family evacuated to Reading during the war and Louis made the arduous trek from Berkshire to London to take care of his customers during the week, returning to his growing family for the weekends.
Up in the early hours of the morning to make the journey to the Kosher meat markets and then on to Hackney soon started to become a chore and with the Jewish community now moving as far out as Edgware, Louis decided to close the shop in Hackney and set up in our current location in Edgwarebury Lane as soon as the parade of shops was built in 1955.
Sadly, Louis Z'l passed away in 1974 and the business passed into the expert hands of his wife Anne and children Elaine & Stanley.
As the years passed, the business continued to grow, Mann's was the first Kosher butcher to go 'self service' and install cabinets with pre-packed meat and poultry. Expanding the premises in the 1980s allowed for a larger shop floor and more preparation areas to serve the growing Jewish community.
Stanley decided that the kosher meat trade was no longer for him and left mince for motors and chickens for clutch cables as he saw his enduring hobby of restoring and racing vintage Bentleys turn into a fabulously rewarding full time career. Although no longer involved in the daily running of the business, Stanley still made time to call in to see his sister Elaine daily for a cuppa and a catch up before starting work. Stanley sadly passed away in 2016 and his unique sense of humour and distinctive character is deeply missed by all who knew him.
Mrs Mann Z'l passed away in 1993 after many years of devoted service to the community and is still missed and talked about by customers of very long standing, some of whom have been buying their meat and poultry since the shop opened in the 1950s.
The business, now under the care of Elaine and her daughter Sarah, continues to evolve and innovate with exciting new products and truly bespoke butchery and poultry departments able to create exactly what customers demand; providing unrivaled levels of quality, freshness and customer service. Fresh refrigerated daily deliveries coupled with superlative knowledge of our product and a willingness to go the extra mile to give the public what they truly desire, has kept Louis Mann & Son Ltd at the cutting edge of truly excellent Kosher Food for more than one hundred years. Here's to the next hundred!