A FAMILY-run fresh fruit and vegetable store in Annan will be closing its doors for the last time today.
Rising costs of energy and electricity bills as well as a downturn in local trade are behind the closure of Crop to Shop, which opened in June 2020.
Owners Leslie and Lesley Hornby on Tuesday said: “We’ve been running Crop to Shop for two and a half years and received incredible support during the lockdown.
“With people so wary to go into public spaces like supermarkets at that time, we gained a lot of regular customers and made friends.
“Supermarkets are cheaper and have a wider range of stock. The wares in our store are all perishable, so the more we buy, the more we throw out.”
They further explained that their energy bill for the High Street premises is set to rise to over double what it was before, meaning the business just isn’t financially viable to keep open.
However, Leslie will continue to run his other business, performing instrumentation at waste energy plants.
The couple have apologised to their regular customers and friends for the decision.
There is currently a 20 per cent sale on everything in the shop, but the doors will permanently close at 4 pm this afternoon.
