Stuarts of Buckhaven closure: Bakery shuts Kirkcaldy High Street branch after more than 50 years

Stuarts of Buckhaven is to close the west end branch, at 25 High Street, along with several others which are due to follow, including Cupar, Methil, and Pitteuchar.

The move is understood to be a result of a lack of footfall and a change in the nature of the business.

As well as a number of name-branded shops, Stuarts has seen a growing number of other retailers stock their products.

Bosses at the firm say that the closure of the Kirkcaldy store was purely a business decision.

Keith Stuart, Managing Director, said: “In total for two shops shutting this week it’s about eight staff. It’s purely down to how busy we are as a business that we’re able to redeploy them.”

The bakery originally had a larger branch on the High Street which was sold to British Home Stores in the mid-sixties before Stuarts settled into the west end location.

Mr Stuart added: “It’s sad to be closing our shop in the High Street in Kirkcaldy after having a presence there for 60 plus years.

"It was an extremely hard decision to make but in the end it came down to purely business.

"We are always on the look for new outlets to sell our stuff and will never completely rule out a return to the area with our own branded store.”

In Kirkcaldy, Stuarts still sell wholesale products to Templehall Post Office, Premier Stores Smeaton, Usave Kirkcaldy, Home Bargains Kirkcaldy, Rejects, NISA Overton Road, Nisa Extra Dysart, Pathhead Newsagents.