A much-loved greengrocers that has been at the heart of Wirral for more than 50 years is being forced to close one of its stores as energy prices rise “through the roof”.
Colin Lunt first opened its doors on Banks Road, in West Kirby, over five decades ago and has since become renowned for its high-quality produce and reputation as a pillar of the local community. After the shop’s founder and namesake passed away in 2019, the business was taken over by Colin’s close friend and fellow West Kirby native, Matty Peers.
With business booming, Matty decided to open a second branch in Hoylake in August 2020. However, just two years later, the spiralling cost-of-living crisis has forced the 47-year-old to make the difficult decision to close the Market Street shop.
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Matty told the ECHO : “We’ve started to see a rise in bills in the last six to 12 months. As soon as the energy prices started going up, on top of shipping and fuel costs, it’s just had a massive impact.
“It seems to have just been going up gradually every couple of weeks. Even buying milk from suppliers, the price has just gone through the roof.
“Especially buying things from abroad, it’s just getting more and more expensive. It’s just not feasible to do what we’re doing out of two shops anymore.”
When Colin died, the West Kirby store, which is the longest-serving shop on Banks Road, was on the brink of closure. When Matty took the reins, the traditional style of the shop meant it wasn’t even equipped with a chip and pin system.
During the pandemic, the business went from strength to strength and was one of ten independent businesses to be named in Wirral Council’s ‘High-Street Heroes’ campaign. However, the difficulties of the past year have seen the shop go from “hero to zero” and forced Matty and the team into a difficult choice to ensure their West Kirby branch can continue to trade.
Matty said: “It’s one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make. We’ve built up a really good reputation in Hoylake but unfortunately there’s been knock-on effects of the price rises and the footfall has just seemed to disintegrate.
“I know everybody is in the same boat and trying to close up the purse strings and keep things to a minimum, but it just wasn’t sustainable to carry on anymore. One shop was basically carrying the other. The footfall in West Kirby is a lot higher and I had to make a decision sooner rather than later because, if I tried to keep the Hoylake shop going, I would have to close the two.”
After announcing the shop will close later this month, Matty has been inundated with comments from customers who have been “devastated” to see the loss of another independent high-street staple in Hoylake. He said: “It does mean a lot seeing the response. Reading all the comments, it does hit home how hard it has been having to make the decision to close.”
Colin Lunt Hoylake will close its doors on Saturday, September 17.
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