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Celebrating 30 years of trading

Three decades after taking a leap of faith which involved leaving well-paid careers and moving away from their home in London, a retailing family in Cambridgeshire are making plans to celebrate 30 years in the business.

Amit Puntambekar now runs the Nisa Local in the village of Fenstanton for his parents who upped and moved from London in 1988 after father Ash fell in love with the world of retail.

Amit explained: “Dad was a senior electronic engineer and Mum worked as a senior blood technician. They lived in London and Dad used to be relief manager at the shop on a Sunday for a friend.

“He loved it. He loved the village and he loved retail so in 1988 he bought it out, Mum moved here, I was born a bit later in 1992, and here we are today.”

The original store was demolished 10 years ago to create a more modern outlet, but in the new year, plans are afoot to re-fit the store once more and modernise it with the latest trends.

Amit said: “When we completed the store 10 years ago it had a really premium feel to it. Everything was brand new and looked great. Now we are looking to make efficiency savings and increase our fresh offering, as well as introducing doored chillers for all our beers, white and rose wines. Everything we do is focused on the customer experience, and customers increasingly want their wine, cold, and ready to drink. We also want to improve and increase our food to go offer with a range of new services such as hot chips, slush machines, bakery, amongst others. 

And to thank the community for their support over the past 30 years, the family is offering 10 customers the chance to win £100 for their chosen charity through their Making a Difference Locally fund.

Through a social media campaign on the shop Facebook page customers are being invited to nominate a local cause or charity and the 10 winners will be drawn at the end of the month. (For details visit: www.facebook.com/AshsShopFenstanton/)

Amit said: “We work closely with the local community and thought this would be a great gesture to thank them for the last 30 years of shopping with us.”