Aviemore corner shop to make way for Aviemore corner shop!
Aviemore’s Grampian Road is to lose an old friend - some say a 100-year-old one - but the Strathy has been told that it will soon be replaced by a brand new one.
The convenience store currently at number 168, near the village’s war memorial, is to be demolished, but the move will make way for a new building.
“That’s our shop closed today,” said Naeela Shahzad on Monday.
“It certainly marks the end if an era. I've heard the shop maybe over 100 years old - if you can call it a shop as, to be honest. It's literally just sheds!”
It’s impossible to estimate how many customers the wooden premises have seen over all these decades, but the shop now bearing the sign Best-One has been a life-safer to countless generations of local and ‘last-minute’ shoppers.
Latterly, too, its Cairngorm Kebab House provided delicious hot meals for take-away, quite apart from all the essentials on the store’s well-stacked shelves.
“Over the last few weeks we have had huge support and encouragement from our local customers,” said Mrs Shahzad.
“We have been overwhelmed by the incredible support they have shown us and they have let us all know how much we’re going to be missed until we reopen, which is scheduled for mid October.”
The family business has been popular for many years and there was concern locally when it was put on the market for a while at one time.
“That was down to health reasons and lack of staff at the time, but fortunately the health situation improved and we solved the staff issue as well and so we simply took it off the market again and carried on and we’re glad we did,” said Naeela.
“Aviemore has long been our home, very much so, and even when we were considering selling we had no intentions at all of moving away.
“We’re looking forward to having new, purpose-built premises in the autumn and will keep Strathy readers informed!”