Sad news as paper shop shuts doors after 60 years
Owner Fraser Mackenzie calls time on the popular store
A Callander newsagent is to close after more than 60 years in the town.
East End News, in Main Street, will shut its doors for the final time on Sunday.
The shop was founded in the 1950s by Willie and Maggie Macdonald and is one of Callander’s oldest businesses.
Current owner, Fraser Mackenzie, 56, has been running it since 1999 but has now decided to call time on the popular shop.
Originally from Perth, he moved to the town in 1996 to take up the position of customer service manager at the Royal Bank of Scotland branch there.
He resigned from that post in 1999 to take over the shop, when it was East End Post Office.
Fraser said: “The business suffered a serious setback in 2009 when, as part of the national sub-Post Office closure programme, the Post Office counter part of the shop was shut down.”
He opted to continue to run the business as a newsagent, employing youngsters to take on home delivery rounds, However with trade decreasing month-to-month he feels the shop is no longer viable.
He said: ”Over the last 20 years, I’ve had an army or boys and girls doing paper rounds. They have been vital to the business.
“They have been out in all weather, 52 weeks a year, even during the ‘Beast from the East’ snow storm in 2018. I have to thank them all for their work over the years.”
Mr Mackenzie also lives in Main Street, a short distance from the newsagent, with his wife and two teenage children.
The shop has been on the market since February this year. He added: “Attempts to sell the shop on the open market have been unsuccessful and it’s with the deepest regret that I have now decided to close the doors permanently.
“I wish to express my sincere thanks to all of the customers who have supported the shop over the many years.”
He says that it is possible that the premises may be sold or be turned in to a residential property at a later date.
He has no plans to retire just yet and is set to take up a position at Loch Katrine, working on the Steamship Sir Walter Scott in the new year.