End of an era as Cushendall store shuts up shop after two centuries
A FAMILY shop in Cushendall is to pull down the shutters for the final time tomorrow after more than 200 years in business.
For eight generations McAlister’s on Shore Street has been at the heart of the coastal village, surviving the 1798 United Irishmen rebellion, the Great Famine and two World Wars.
Before construction of the Antrim coast road in the 1840s, the shop provided a lifeline for isolated rural communities in the Glens.
Present owner Andrew McAlister was born above the shop in 1956 and started helping out as soon as he could walk.
He said it was heartbreaking to close, but a serious shift in trading conditions made it impossible to continue.
“I’ll be honest, I’m finding it difficult, it’s been my life since I was born,” he said last night.
“We used to sell a whole range of items, from tickets to the White Star Line ships and fertiliser, right through to ammunition and explosives at one stage. You name it, we sold it.
“It’s very difficult to walk away; to some extent I feel I have all that history and all those ancestors looking down on me going: ‘Jaysus boy, we could do this — what’s wrong with you?’”
Mr McAlister said the monopoly of multinational supermarkets and an increase in online ordering and delivery for grocery shopping had been hard to compete with.
“Another thing that surprised me was the closure of the village’s Northern Bank four years ago,” he added.
“I lost about 15% of turnover and never got it back.”
Despite being on the popular Causeway Coastal Route, he said a lack of parking around the village meant local businesses weren’t feeling the benefit of tourism.
“Cushendall has been one of the more vibrant villages on the coast, but I’m closing and the village’s only hotel is up for sale. The whole way along the Antrim coast you’ve got some fabulous villages and they’re all struggling quite badly,” he pointed out.
Looking back on the shop’s history, he said: “The names in our family have generally been Daniel and Arthur.
“I’m Andrew, which is a bit of a change. I think I’m the eighth generation.
“The first gentleman was called Archibald or Archie, and we think he started the shop some time between 1795 and 1800.
“So, in all, I think there were four Daniels, three Arthurs and an Andrew at the end of the road.”
Mr McAlister said the final closure tomorrow would be bittersweet. “Ironically, there’s late night shopping that evening as they’re switching on the Christmas tree,” he added.
“I’m afraid I’m looking on it as a wake — but as I’m also a funeral director, it’s something I’m familiar with!
“That can be seen as a celebration, but I’ll be honest, it’s a sense of loss to me and my family, and in general most people do realise this is a bad thing and the end of an era.”