'End of an era' as store closes after 41 years

The family behind one of the first East Asian grocery stores in Basildon say its planned closure after 41 years is the "end of an era".

Kam & Co, run by Lup Yin Kam and his wife Rose, was one of the first to open in the Essex town's Eastgate Shopping Centre in 1985.

Over the years, the store became a hub for martial arts enthusiasts and sold Asian arts and crafts and a host of grocery staples.

The couple's daughter, Jing Kam, told the BBC the store would close at the end of October, adding: "I am extremely sad, it is the end of an era. It was opened before I was born, and I basically grew up in the shop."

Kam said her father had come to the UK in 1969 from Malaysia to study accounting when he met Rose, who was studying nursing.

The couple opened a market stall selling Asian arts and crafts in Pitsea in 1983.

A farewell party has been organised for Saturday.

She said her father did not want to retire but customer numbers had fallen in recent times.

Small businesses "bring connection to people and I think that is really important", Kam added.

The UK's first specialist Chinese grocery opened in Birmingham in 1970 and it supplied more than 1,000 different products to local families.

Basildon Borough Council said the Eastgate Shopping Centre had started to host several events in a bid to make it "more than a place to shop" and a "destination for leisure, family entertainment and community services".

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