Oldest greengrocer finally closes... a victim of online buying and supermarkets
AFTER almost 130 years of selling fruit and vegetables, Britain’s oldest greengrocer’s is set to shut up shop.
It has thrived under six monarchs and 35 Prime Ministers but will cease trading on March 31, when owner Brenda Jackson, 75, retires.
Jackson’s County Fruit Stores in Stafford sells everything from traditional potatoes and pears to exotic vegetables.
But having been an independent family business since the late 19th century it has finally succumbed to competition from supermarkets and online shopping.
Brenda, who has six grandchildren, and her late husband Derek inherited the store in 1959. His parents had bought it in the early 1950s from the Williams family, who had owned it since the mid-1880s. Derek died in 2000 aged 62, leaving Brenda to run the store with the help of their children Mandy, now 50, Terry, 52, and Yvonne, 56.
After six decades in charge she finally took the decision to sell in December.
The grade II-listed thatched building, which dates from 1610, is on the market for £450,000.
Brenda said: “The shop has been a massive part of my life.
“I know it inside and out. But at nearly 76 I need to have a bit of time to myself to spend with the grandchildren.
“It’s amazing it’s been a fruit and veg store for so long and I will be sad to see it go. But I’m proud of what we’ve done as a family and we’ve all earned a rest.”
Yvonne said: “It’s amazing to think how many people must have walked through the doors over the years.
“It’s like a piece of local history, which makes it all the sadder to see it go.
“The increasing popularity of supermarkets and the way that people are going online to get their weekly shop has driven people away, which is really sad.
“Historic stores like ours are disappearing – and that’s a shame.”