FANS have been left devastated after a famous fish and chip shop has shut its doors after 70 years.
The adored family-run chippyVisocchi's, on Old Durham Road, Gateshead, announced it would be closing after over seven decades serving the local community.
Owners of the chippy revealed the news on Facebook, telling their devastated customers they would be stepping back from joint to enjoy their retirement.
Expressing gratitude for the support shown to them by their loyal fanbase, the owners emphasised how much the place has meant to them for all these years.
The post read: “After 73 years in our family, Visocchi's is now closed due to retirement.
“We would like to thank all our customers and friends for all your support over the years, it really has meant a lot to us all. We will genuinely miss you all and wish you all the very best for the future.
“‘Thank you all once again from everyone at Visocchi's.”
Buckets of devastated punters have responded to the post, with one paying an emotional tribute to the “best chip shop around”.
Another echoed this sentiment, commenting: “My kids know this as ‘the best chippy in the world’ very well deserved retirement to them !! And thank you.”
Meanwhile, others expressed their well wishes to the owners and thanked them for their seven decades serving the community.
One customer said: “What a shame. We’re losing all the great institutions in our area.
“Thank you Visocchi’s, they were always so chatty and warm. Good luck and happy retirement.”
Visocchi's sudden closure comes amid a wave of other stores shutting up shop across the country.
Just yesterday, devastated owners of a beloved shop announced “with heavy hearts” their store's sudden closure.
A slew of difficulties forced the shutters down after the unique store faced a “financial downturn.”
The adored sustainable shop Refill in Chelmsford, Essex, announced on Wednesday that it will be shutting for good.
After springing up in August 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, the environmentally-friendly store offered unpackaged items in bulk to be bought in small quantities as refills.
The store's original director warned its devoted customers that it may have to shut in January 2023 – but passionate eco-warriors Russell Betts, Danielle Cottee and Andy McAlonan stepped in as new owners.
With a new lease of life, the shop was able to be maintained until the financial difficulties became too great this year.
The owners shared a heartfelt post on social media, sharing details of the devastating closure.
On Facebook, the post read: “It’s with heavy hearts that we share some difficult news—Refill will be closing its doors.
“Two years ago, when we (Andy, Danielle and Russell) took over from Jan and Pete, we hoped to keep this little hub of sustainability alive.
“The financial downturn just before we took over never recovered—if anything, things got harder.
Why are retailers closing shops?
EMPTY shops have become an eyesore on many British high streets and are often symbolic of a town centre’s decline.
Flying Eze's business editor Ashley Armstrong explains why so many retailers are shutting their doors.
In many cases, retailers are shutting stores because they are no longer the money-makers they once were because of the rise of online shopping.
Falling store sales and rising staff costs have made it even more expensive for shops to stay open.
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs from April 2025, will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40.
In some cases, retailers are shutting a store and reopening a new shop at the other end of a high street to reflect how a town has changed.
The problem is that when a big shop closes, footfall falls across the local high street, which puts more shops at risk of closing.
Retail parks are increasingly popular with shoppers, who want to be able to get easy, free parking at a time when local councils have hiked parking charges in towns.
Many retailers including Next and Marks & Spencer have been shutting stores on the high street and taking bigger stores in better-performing retail parks instead.
In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Carpetright, Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins, Paperchase, Ted Baker, The Body Shop, Topshop and Wilko to name a few.
What's increasingly common is when a chain goes bust a rival retailer or private equity firm snaps up the intellectual property rights so they can own the brand and sell it online.
They may go on to open a handful of stores if there is customer demand, but there are rarely ever as many stores or in the same places.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
