The owners of Leitchville’s only supermarket have closed the door for the last time after almost 23 years in business. Michael and Sue Walker (pictured), who bought the supermarket in 1983, walked out the door for the last time as owners on Sunday.

Michael said, “We thought it was time to have a bit of a rest, spend some more time with family and have a bit of leisure time - and do stuff for ourselves. We can travel a bit more as well. We might play a bit more golf, find some hobbies, get into vegie gardening or something like that.”

Prior to buying the supermarket, Michael worked at Kraft and has worked for a solid 50 years. He says the change in lifestyle is daunting and he will miss chatting with people throughout the day. “We’ll remember the different characters and different people we’ve met along the way. We remember them and the ones that passed on. We’ve seen kids grow from babies right up to young adults,” he said.

Michael paid tribute to staff of 20 years, Mareeta Griffiths and Joan Hipwell, who, he says, have been a tremendous asset to the business, treating the business as their own and fitting in with the local community.

The supermarket’s new owner took over this week and Michael is confident he will do a good job and continue to serve the community. 

“I just want to thank the community for its support over 23 years. We’ve had a lot of good customers in that time, and customers have come and gone but we’ve gone from strength to strength. The shop’s been good to us and hopefully we’ve served the community okay. We’re just thankful for everybody’s support.”