‘Top’ Oban shop shuts for business
ONE OF Oban’s ‘top’ independent shops has shut down.
Kitchen Garden in George Street closed after business on Wednesday last week and has not opened since.
News of the deli and coffee shop's sudden closure prompted more than 190 Facebook comments.
Lights were still on in the window and a blue cover could be seen draped over the fridges full of olives, cheese and other treats this week.
Bemused customers turning up at the shop, which also sold beer, wine and spirits, were faced with a simple handwritten note stuck on the door saying ‘Sorry we are closed until further notice’.
A post on Kitchen Garden’s Facebook page read: ‘Dear all, we are very sorry to announce that due to unforeseen circumstances we have had to close our coffee shop/delicatessen.
‘We want to say a big thank you to all our customers throughout the years and we are very sorry to disappoint you like this. We are extremely grateful to all of you and we have made life-long friends throughout these years.
‘We will miss you dearly and wish you all the best.’
‘What a shock’, ‘Great tragedy’, ‘So sorry to hear about this, hardly any independent shops left on the main street’, ‘Will miss being able to pop in and enjoy the delights inside’, and ‘Big loss to Oban for sure’ were just some of the many posts.
Customer Mike Foster contacted The Oban Times and said: ‘The deli was superb for good cheeses, smoked salmon and other treats. Now we will have to travel 80 miles to Helensburgh to fill the gap. The café was one of the top four in the town. A sad day for Obanites.’
And one of its suppliers Wild island Botanic Gin also put up a post saying: ‘That is very sad news. We would like to thank Stewart and Rose for being such great supporters of Wild Island Botanic Gin and Colonsay Brewery over many years. We will also miss the cheese counter. Good luck folks.’
Bid4Oban chief executive officer Andrew Spence said: ‘We don’t want to see an empty shop on Oban’s main street for the start of the tourist season but we are as surprised and shocked at its closure as everyone else. We have no idea what’s happened. It might not be connected to more people shopping online nowadays but it’s still a reminder to people to shop local – use it or lose it.’
Despite efforts by The Oban Times to contact the owners of Kitchen Garden, including messaging on Facebook, no comment was available.