Arne Børresen: The taste of Hamar

By Celina Tran

In a quiet corner of Hamar, Arne Børresen continues to uphold a legacy that began in the wake of war. As the sole remaining traditional butcher and sausage maker in the city, the company has become a symbol of craftsmanship, community, and unwavering commitment to quality.

In the heart of Hamar, Arne Børresen AS is not merely the city’s last remaining traditional butchers, but a living piece of Norwegian food culture. From its traditional Norwegian medisterkaker (pork meatballs) to the award-winning wiener sausages, everything it makes carries the flavour of time, care, and local pride.

Photo: Lars Lillemork

While the rest of the industry races toward automation, Arne Børresen AS continues to work the old way. Meat is still hand-cut, sausages are hand-filled, and beef patties are fried by people rather than machines.

“Our recipes haven’t changed much since the 1950s, nor has our commitment to quality,” says Marius Kjeldstadli, deputy manager at Arne Børresen AS. “We’re proud to remain an artisanal business that uses few modern machines. Good old-fashioned craftsmanship is disappearing more and more, and it’s important to preserve it.”

Photo: Carl Normann

From fish-filled sausages to gold medals

Arne Børresen AS was founded on New Year’s Day in 1946, in the cold dawn of post-war Norway. While most people were still recovering from the trauma of the era, Arne Børresen decided to open a much-needed butcher and sausage-making workshop.

“Meat was still hard to come by in those early years after the war, so initially they were packed with fish, often herring,” says Kjeldstadli. “At a time when fuel was also hard to come by, Børresen borrowed a horse and cart, and rode from farm to farm in search of emergency-slaughtered animals that could not be sold on the open market but could still be used. He was one of the first who managed to get meat for the sausages, which made him very popular.”

Photo: Adolf Thorén, Nasjonalbiblioteket

As the business grew, he invested in a moped with a wooden delivery box on the back; the most affordable delivery van he could get. Rain or snow, he would ride across Hamar, delivering sausages and other handmade products to restaurants, cafés and kiosks, truly making a name for himself through grit and persistence.

By the 1960s, business was booming. So many customers were showing up on Fridays and Saturdays that a queue and ticket system had to be introduced to manage the rush. People came for recipes packed with both pork and beef, crafted by skilled hands and made with local ingredients.

Photo: Lars Lillemork

Pride and tradition in sausage making

Today, Arne Børresen AS is run by a small, tight-knit team with a strong sense of pride and tradition. The company continues to make most of its products in the same way it always has, and the famous wiener sausage is widely regarded as one of the best in Norway. With multiple gold, silver, and bronze medals from national and Nordic meat championships, its reputation is as solid and secure as the sausage skins.

“The retail shop closed in 1980, due to the shifting marketing conditions, but we’re still at the factory in Disen that we moved to in 1966. Now, our products are available around the region, and we’ve partnered with Isbilen (the Norwegian Ice Cream Truck) to bring our products across the country.”

Photo: Lars Lillemork

While expansion is on the horizon, the core values remain unchanged: craftsmanship, quality, and pride in local food traditions. The team is exploring larger premises outside the city centre – “for the sake of our poor neighbours,” Kjeldstadli jokes – but insists that it will always remain an artisanal business where almost everything is still done by hand.

So, if you ever visit Hamar or are lucky enough to spot one of its products in your local store, take a satisfying bite of history.