'Sad news' as food stall to close but staff member…

'Sad news' as food stall to close but staff member says McDonald's 'just one thing on top of another'

A popular food stall in a Wirral village that has served customers for almost two decades is to close down.

The Lunch Box has been serving customers at the JunctionONE Retail Park in Bidston for 18 years but confirmed it will close for the final time on June 1.

The closure comes amid plans for a new McDonald's restaurant to open nearby in August. Planning permission for the new fast-food site was granted by Wirral Council last year amid much controversy.

Caroline French is one of two members of staff and has worked at The Lunch Box for 16 years. She said it had been around for at least 18 years and people had been supportive since they announced they were closing. A sign at the front said: "Thank you all for your smiles, bad jokes, and custom over the years."

A sign in the shop (Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)

She added: “To be honest people have been really nice and people have been really helpful when it’s come to things like jobs.”

Joking that now she has to make new friends, she added: “It is just going to be sad because I have known some of these customers forever.

“It is a good job, I have a life and it’s not stressful. You just talk to people. When I came here, I didn’t know how to cook. I had never cooked a day in my life.”

While some people have blamed the impending arrival of McDonald’s for the closure, Ms French said it had been “in the pipeline for a while” and “it was just one thing on top of another.”

Visitors to The Lunch Box have taken to social media to share their thoughts on the business coming to an end, with some describing the move as "very sad news."

One customer, Steven-John said he will miss the Lunch Box being open and said it had “become a real hub for a lot of people around here, like some people rely on this place.”