The owners of a family-run business are set to retire from a much-loved village shop and are now looking for the right people to take over.
Wortham Stores and Teashop is owned by Peter and Janice Lloyd and is run with the help of their daughter, Deborah Young, and her husband, Chris.
But after 16 years of running the business, which includes a post office, the pair want to retire and have put the site up for sale.
Mrs Young said it was not a decision they had taken lightly.
“It was a really tough decision for my parents to make,” she said.
“The villagers have been absolutely fantastic and helped us get through a lot, including the pandemic, but my parents have seen people come in, enjoying their retirement, and they want that, too – they deserve it.”
Despite their long association with the business, Mr and Mrs Lloyd never intended on running a village shop.
“Back in 2008, this was not on their radar at all,” said Mrs Young, who lives in Palgrave with her children Riley, 14, and Pippa, 12.
“But they kept driving past and, one day, when they were having a cup of coffee in the shop, they got a message from some friends who saw them in there, and they said they should buy it, so they did.”
Mr and Mrs Lloyd have run the store and post office ever since, with Mr and Mrs Young ensuring it is a family affair by managing the neighbouring tea shop.
On the 10th anniversary of owning the business, the village held a party and presented the owners with a picture of the shop that had been hanging in the village hall.
“All our customers are gutted and hope that whoever takes it on keeps it going as it is,” said Mrs Young.
“The community has been massively important to us since we started and we thank them for that and will keep the business open until we find the right people.
“This village store is a bit of a hub and some people that come in only talk to us in their whole day, so it is important to us that any new owners immerse themselves in the community.”
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