Heywood Sweet & Yummy Gifts to close at end of January

Heywood's traditional sweet shop, Sweet and Yummy Gifts

Heywood’s traditional sweet shop Sweet & Yummy Gifts is set to close at the end of the month after six years of business.

The family-run business – “a little idea that spiralled quickly” - was set up seven years ago by Rachel Avellanet and her husband, Brandon, with Rachel’s parents, Ellen Wintle-Yates and David Yates.

Rachel said: “It was a really hard decision as we have put our lives into it.

“The overheads of rent, rates, bills, etc. mean it has become impossible to run. There is just no support for local businesses, and footfall has reached an all-time low.

"Recently, several other businesses in Heywood have closed too, including Cameo Cards, which has been there since I was a little girl.”

“When we started, we thought we had reached the peak point of shopping, and it had been a long time since we had had a proper sweet shop.

People just are not shopping in Heywood because they go to Manchester or the Rock [in Bury] where there is lots of variety and an appealing atmosphere to go to. We have these chains to compete with which destroy our businesses.”

However, the business will continue to trade online.

Rachel added: “We will be keeping the same phone number and email, and we will be seeing how it goes online.

We will be offering a smaller range more like what we originally used to, such as party bags, gift hampers and wedding favours.

“Thank you so much to everyone who has ever supported us; some of our customers have been with us from day one. It is thanks to you that we have lasted as long as we have. I would also like to extend my thanks to my mum and dad for all their help.”

She added: “We will be selling off everything in the shop at very low cost to clear, so feel free to pop down for some cheap sweets or message us if you have any enquiries or for any occasion needed.”