A SHOP is urging people to Love Local Business to help them recover following the lockdown.

As a non-essential shop, Kemps General Store in Market Place, Malton, closed its doors in March.

Owner Liz Kemp said: “Prior to Covid we had no online sales channel, but it had been on the ‘to do list’ for a while, but we never seemed to have enough time to do it.

“Now there was time and it would be a lifeline. I worked a few all-nighters in the first week of lockdown and with a little tech help, we got 500 items listed and the online shop up and running.

“I went into town twice a week at 6am to pack the orders, do my own shopping and through a great arrangement with our brilliant Post Office, which kept running throughout, I was able to drop off my bag of parcels without queuing.

“We were able to keep serving our customers and offering the same level of personal service we have always prided ourselves on throughout lockdown.’’

Liz said the positive feedback about how the town has stepped up, been resilient and flexible in meeting customer needs throughout lockdown had been amazing.

“Many people are continuing to make a choice to support their local shops as they recognise how vital they have been during this difficult time and how lucky we are to have independent businesses available to us on our doorsteps.

“There is still uncertainty in the future and we are continuing to do all we can to offer our customers choice in how they can shop with us, and we are doing all we can to recover and come back better than ever. Thank you Malton.”

The Press Love Local Business campaign is highlighting the work of local businesses as they recover from the crisis.