A family butchers which has been run by two brothers since they were 15 has announced it will be closing down. The popular butchers in Retford has served customers for 146 years.
Roger and Kevin Burton, who run Geo. Burton Butchers, say it is "time to let go". The pair have started to wind down their business and expect to close the doors in early November.
Lincolnshire Live reports Kevin, aged 66, will look back on a "very enjoyable" career. Having worked at the butchers for 51 years, he said it was his time to move on. "I'm 67 next and you can't work forever," he said.
Read more: 'Great sadness' as licensees to leave Beeston pub after just over a year
"It's a physical job and you're on your feet all day. There's always a lot of work to be done. But my wife has retired and it's about time I spent some time with her, rather than in here."
The brothers have more than 90 years of experience between them, with both having started when they were each 15 years old. Younger brother Roger, 56, said he remembers leaving school on a Friday, having two days to relax over the weekend, and then starting up at the Churchgate butcher on the Monday. But now, there is no one left to pick up the mantle.
Roger has no children and Kevin's have made careers for themselves elsewhere. Kevin said: "There's sadness in there, but it's bittersweet.
"We've done it for a long time, all our family before us did it, and we're the pair to put the nail in the coffin and say: 'That's it'. That doesn't sit well, but now there's no generation to carry it on." Roger added: "The only reason it's been here for 146 years is because there's been a generation to take it on, who needed income.
"It's a bit strange and it's a bit daunting, but it's time to let it go. You have to embrace it." Though it did not play a major part in the brothers' decision, Roger said the business was becoming more and more expensive to run in light of the widening cost of living crisis. With refrigerators running every minute of every day, they had seen a jump in their electricity bills from £500 to £2,000.
"We're fortunate that it's just got to our time to retire and move on," Roger added. "But we are hearing about businesses around us who are being forced to close because it's just not viable anymore.
"Everybody's bill is growing rapidly and there just is no way to make it cheaper." The pair were set to close the shop about four years ago but strong sales during the Covid-19 lockdowns in 2021 and 2021 encouraged them to stay open.
But with that last hurrah behind them, they have put the building up for sale and expect to be gone 'imminently'. While it "could be nice" to see a new butcher open in the same spot, Roger said: "Whatever the next person does with it, it's up to them.
"There's a large home upstairs, and there was a hope that someone would take it on and live there like I used to. We had it on the market for a year with a national broker but there just wasn't any interest.
"But it won't be anything to do with us - the book will be closed." Customers have been in and out, wishing the brothers well but feeling sad to see them go.
Roger and Kevin both said they wanted to thank them for their years of loyal support. "To old and new customers, thank you very much," Roger said. "We've met people who have been shopping here for longer than I have worked here. The biggest shock of all is just how quickly it's gone. Those 41 years didn't feel like two minutes. But everybody says that."
READ NEXT:
Popular Ilkeston Charter Fair with 'amazing atmosphere' opens
Work starts on huge Nottingham Winter Wonderland 2022 in Old Market Square
Development on 3 huge tower blocks in Nottingham stopped as plans 'back to the drawing board'
Yellow warning for thunder in Nottinghamshire as heavy rain causes flooding
