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The Greengrocer in Front Street, Acomb to shut with loss of eight jobs

8:35am Tuesday 19th January 2010 in


A GREENGROCER from York who closes his shop door for the last time tomorrow believes the area is dying.

Mike Burbidge, who has run The Greengrocer in Front Street, Acomb, since 2001, said those who still think of the row of shops in the community as vibrant and busy are wrong.

The 42-year-old, who employs eight staff, blamed the demise of his business on high rents, internet shopping and competition from the nearby Morrison’s supermarket.

He said: “It’s been dying a death for the past five years. Last week we were down £3,500 on the same period last year, but it wasn’t the weather – we were busier in the snow.

“Morrison’s are very aggressive on the high street – they are doing 30p bags of fruit and we just can’t compete with that."

Mr Burbidge will close his store at 1pm tomorrow, leaving his staff out of work and himself considering his own future. He says the outlook for Front Street is bleak.

He said: “I think it will die a death. The public perception of Acomb now is cafés and charity shops.”

The view was echoed by regular customer, George Thomson-Smith, who said: “This will be replaced by another charity shop. I think it’s a disaster for the people who shop here and the people who work here."

A spokesman for Morrisons said: “We are proud to operate at the heart of the community and are committed to enhancing the local area. We believe the store attracts shoppers to Acomb which is a benefit to local businesses.”

Comments(17)

Garrowby Turnoff says...
8:47am Tue 19 Jan 10

Very sad, but small shops are struggling across the shopping spectrum, not just greengrocers. When the upswing begins properly it might improve, but people are voting with their wallets at the moment and shopping to suit a smaller budget than in recent decades.

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mrs.w says...
9:10am Tue 19 Jan 10

It is very sad, when I moved to Acomb 10 years ago we had several butchers and greengrocers.... It is a shame that we are loosing our freedom of choice and ability to avoid supermarkets, God I hate them..... Good Luck to Mr Burbidge.

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santa claus says...
10:59am Tue 19 Jan 10

As said another charity shop on the way.

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peepod says...
11:45am Tue 19 Jan 10

For a number of years we bought our Christmas tree from B&Q, it was cheap, convenient and the staff there are always friendly. My wife suggested that we buy our tree last Christmas from our local greengrocer (above). It cost slightly more, it didn't last as long, I had to carry it further and the staff (I assume a Saturday girl) didn't smile and looked like she couldn't be bothered. Give me one good reason to support local shops?

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King Edward says...
11:58am Tue 19 Jan 10

Actually a bookmakers would be better than a charity shop and do far more business.

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alfie says...
1:28pm Tue 19 Jan 10

I no longer buy fruit from supermarkets because its weird, the fruits seem to take forever to ripen and then it goes off before even having got ripe, bananas seem to be the only safe option from a supermarket that taste alright.

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the andrew says...
3:16pm Tue 19 Jan 10

Whinge whinge whinge, Morrisons offer good value and the fruit is always good AND if you keep the apples/pears in the fridge as they recommend on the pack they will be good long after the consume by date. £1 for 7 apples, £1-04 for 7 pears, 97p for 7 nanas, what more do you want ?.

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Yorkie21 says...
3:22pm Tue 19 Jan 10

I used to work at the greengrocers above and what a first job it was !! Being 16 when i first started, it made me appreciate how hard people work to make money. I will always be grateful to Mike on how much I learnt from him. I always looked forward to starting work at 7am... even on a saturday morning !! It's such a shame local shops are being forced out due to supermarkets. The produce was always fresh everyday, and not packaged like some supermarkets.. I will be very sad to see the greengrocer go ! Good Luck Mike in what ever you do next !

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Yorkborneinbse says...
3:45pm Tue 19 Jan 10

Peepod, here's a few:

They are 'Local' e.g. just near your doorstep usually !
You can pop in & pop out more quickly.
They generally dont use scanners, No barcode ? Job stopped. Infuriates me.
Cars do not get damaged by uncontrolled trolleys.
Local shops have the 'Personal touch' great for the old and vulnerable.

Friday 'Big Shop' supermarket.
Pop in for a few forgotton things, Local if there was any !

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Yorkborneinbse says...
3:45pm Tue 19 Jan 10

Peepod, here's a few:

They are 'Local' e.g. just near your doorstep usually !
You can pop in & pop out more quickly.
They generally dont use scanners, No barcode ? Job stopped. Infuriates me.
Cars do not get damaged by uncontrolled trolleys.
Local shops have the 'Personal touch' great for the old and vulnerable.

Friday 'Big Shop' supermarket.
Pop in for a few forgotton things, Local if there was any !

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peepod says...
4:01pm Tue 19 Jan 10

I have been into this greengrocer many times and never experienced a 'personal touch'! I know it's a shame that local businesses are going down the pan, but we no longer live in the 'open all hours' world anymore. As a society we demand everything under one roof, cheap produce, 24 hour convenience, home shopping and clubcard points!

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shadowpig says...
6:40pm Tue 19 Jan 10

gutted to see this place go. 55p for a cabbage the size of my head? those days are definitely gone now, back to pre packed - half the leaves missing because the staff take them off to make the produce look fresh- fodder for the guinea pigs then

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the_boy_03 says...
7:06pm Tue 19 Jan 10

Problem was once the butchers (Dewhurst) went then the easiest place to go was either Morrisons or the other butchers near CJ's
But then you might as well goto Morrison and get your veg and meat plus anything else whilst your there

Acomb will go the same as everywhere else in York takeaways,cafes and Charity shops
A member of the council will be along in a minute to tell us we are best placed to ride out the economic downturn

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mr deed says...
10:33am Wed 20 Jan 10

Firstly good luck for the future Mike and thanks for providing such a good local service over the years.
Peepod
If you live local how was it more convenient and cost effective and less distance to carry when B&Q is miles across town which probably took you about an hour with December traffic.
The greengrocer provided a personnel touch as if you had any problems,requests ect Mike was always on hand in the shop, you do not usually see Ken Morrison on the shop floor.
Had you any problems carrying your shopping to your car Mike would arrange a member of staff to help.
The veg was fresh and local produce not from all ends of the earth you get in supermarkets.
As others above have said more shops will go the same way unable to compete with multi million pound supermarkets.
Would not expect any input from councillors since it was only a few weeks back Clr Galloway was telling us Acomb needed another supermarket while selling off the Edmund Wilson site.

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Get-a-grip says...
11:37am Wed 20 Jan 10

This is what happens when you turn a perfectly good road into a pedestrian precinct. I can park outside Morrisons where the veg is far better quality anyway, and I don't have to carry a heavy bag 100s of yards back to the car.

Blame the vendetta against the car for the demise of many shops.

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Get-a-grip says...
11:38am Wed 20 Jan 10

This is what happens when you turn a perfectly good road into a pedestrian precinct. I can park outside Morrisons where the veg is far better quality anyway, and I don't have to carry a heavy bag 100s of yards back to the car.

Blame the vendetta against the car for the demise of many shops.

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alfie says...
1:28pm Wed 20 Jan 10

the andrew wrote:
Whinge whinge whinge, Morrisons offer good value and the fruit is always good AND if you keep the apples/pears in the fridge as they recommend on the pack they will be good long after the consume by date. £1 for 7 apples, £1-04 for 7 pears, 97p for 7 nanas, what more do you want ?.
Cant you read properly? you obviously dont eat much fruit from morrisons then, I said the fruit is off before its ripe if i put the pears in the fridge (which i have done before actually) they would live forever in an unripened state. Morrisons, tesco and asda's pears, plums, peachs are Mutant fruits made from plastic that people buy because they are cheap and easy, a bit like folk on here i suspect. Ha

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Owner Mike Burbidge outside The Greengrocer, in Front Street, Acomb, which is closing down Owner Mike Burbidge outside The Greengrocer, in Front Street, Acomb, which is closing down

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