A BRAND new retro sweet shop, started up by a York teenager and his family, has opened its doors to the public.

Ziggy Sweets, set up by Jay Copeland and his family, who live in the Rawcliffe area, has opened in a storage unit at the McCarthy Storage World in Water Lane in the city - next to the Aldi store.

The company started out in late 2020 by doing deliveries using the JustEat and Deliveroo platforms - but chose to expand to owning a sweet shop and further their options around three weeks ago.

Jay, 16, said: “I’ve always wanted to be an entrepreneur and I’ve been coming up with ideas for a long time.

“We’re passionate about what we do and and we’re proud to be family owned.

“The support from locals has been outstanding so far - it’s great to see new local businesses opening up, especially during the pandemic.”

Jay said that they sell a range of sweets at the new store - from American goodies to the classics “we all know and love”.

They have also now started to stock ice cream after requests from customers - and plan to start to sell milkshakes in the future.

The funding to start the new shop came from Jay’s family - which the teenager went on to say he is very thankful for.

Ziggy Sweets is open seven days a week, from 8am - 5.30pm Monday - Friday, 9am-5pm on Saturdays and 10am-3pm on Sundays. However, opening times may vary depending on the opening times of the McCarthy Storage World centre.

Jay’s brother, Ben, works in the shop seven days a week. Other family members, including Jay, vary on their working hours due to other commitments.

As well as Ziggy Sweets - Jay also has a small business selling eggs and milk to local people.