THE owner of one of Staple Hill’s best-known shops is preparing to retire.
Steven Farley is set to close his pet and garden supplies shop Farleys, in Broad Street, on December 12.
Steve has been in the business for more than 20 years, and previously ran a pet supplies stall in St Nicholas Market in Bristol city centre.
But despite his long career in the business he confessed: “I’ve never had a pet in my life!”
Steve has always lived in Staple Hill, attending Staple Hill Primary School and Chase School before starting work in a warehouse.
While working for the St Ivel dairy business, later owned by Unigate and then Wincanton, he paid for his own lessons to become a lorry driver, operating out of depots in Warmley, then Chippenham.
Steve used redundancy money in 2001 to take over the Pets Paradise stall in St Nick’s, which a friend had run some years before.
He picked up much of his knowledge about pet care to help advise customers by studying books from a second-hand stall at St Nick’s.
When the opportunity arose in 2006 to take over the premises in Broad Street, which had been a pet shop since the late 1970s or early 80s, Steve took it so he could be based closer to home.
He said business had been good until the pandemic, which had permanently changed shopping habits for many people.
Steve said: “People started getting things delivered more often.
“We were allowed to stay open during the lockdown and we had grants to keep us going, but after we came back, the trade nosedived.”
He said the closure of the Original Factory Shop two years ago, to be replaced by a gym, had affected footfall.
Steve said: “You need the passing trade in any high street business but unfortunately there’s just not enough bigger shops to hold people in the area.
“It’s a shame – some days you can count the amount of people on the high street on one hand.”
Steve, whose partner Jackie Kenny helps out part-time, decided to retire early at 63 rather than renew a five-year lease.
The shop will not have card facilities after the end of November, so customers are being advised to bring cash after that.
Steve plans to sell leftover stock at car boot sales and go back to lorry driving part time.
He said: “We would like to say thanks to all our customers for their support over the years.
“I’ll miss talking to people, both the regular customers and the fresh faces it’s nice to see every now and then.”