Community says farewell to retiring shopowners

(L-R) Uri and Kosh Patel say they feel "very lucky" to have bought the shop in Greatstone

Dozens of people gave a surprise farewell for a couple who are retiring after running a local store in Kent for 36 years.

Kosh Patel, 66, owned and run the Londis store in Dunes Road, Greatstone, with his wife Uri, for more than three decades.

The pair have decided now is the time to sell up and retire to focus on family time.

Following the surprise farewell, Mrs Patel, 65, said: "So many people turned up, and we didn't even know. I was crying it was so emotional.

"It made 36 years of work worthwhile."

A stone's throw from Greatstone beach, a popular location for holidaymakers, the shop is described by locals as "more of a community shop than a general store".

The couple have only ever taken the odd day off for bereavements or weddings, one customer said.

Mr Patel said the work was getting harder as the pair got older and their granddaughter had told them "now is the time" to go away on holiday as a family.

Locals and customers planned a surprise gathering at the store to wish Mr and Mrs Patel farewell

John Adey, a regular customer who lives just metres away from the shop, said: "We've lived here for 10 years and we've known Kosh and Uri since the day we moved in.

"It's a bit of an end of an era. There's not many shops that have had the same owners for 36 years."

Final handover to the new buyer is yet to be completed and the couple's final day in the store is to be decided.

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