Two Cupar town centre shops to close

Print & Stationery Office and Rhubarb, both on Crossgate, announced that they would be closing.

The former will be closing at the end of the month, although it may open sporadically afterwards to get rid of stock.

Gary Marshall, partner of owner Hilary Green, explained that Print & Stationery Office would be closing for “personal reasons”.

Hilary has had a presence in the town centre around 16 years, and has been in the current premises for a decade.

“There’s a couple of people interested in the shop,” Gary explained. “It would be nice if they kept it as the same sort of thing. The town needs it.

“I would like to thank our regular customers for supporting us over the years.”

The shop is running a 50 per cent off sale at the moment.

Meanwhile, gift shop Rhubarb also announced it would be closing down.

It announced the news on Facebook, while also revealing it would be running a 50 per cent off closing down sale, which began on Tuesday.

Alison Strachan, chair of local business association ABCD, said she hoped the buildings would be taken on by people wanting to run businesses in the town.

She added: “Anyone relocating to or starting up in Cupar will benefit from the activities of CuparNow.

“The Facebook page alone is drawing in customers to businesses – many of them locals who didn’t know of the existence of some of the services and choice in town, by highlighting the range available, sharing posts from businesses and organisations in town and by giving Cupar a greater digital presence.”

Alison, who also runs the Maisie & Mac gifts, arts and crafts store in Cupar, said she hoped someone else might want to run a gift shop in Cupar following Rhubarb’s closure, adding: “I believe that we all benefit from more custom if customers see that there are several options.”

Councillor Margaret Kennedy praised the owners of Rhubarb and Print & Stationery Office.

She said: “It is sad loss to the town. Both these businesses have played their part in our community and have been run by two very positive and community minded individuals in Hilary and Tim.”