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good tradesmen across Dublin, giving them the nei
ghbourhood title of having the “best referrals in town”. Their resistance to cash registers and, up until two years ago, debit cards only further endears the shop amidst an age of rampant technology. As the brothers affirm, “We know the shop is old-style, but we’ve found that people like how it isn’t computerised. They can come in and buy a bag of coal, a bar of carbolic soap, a few nails or screws…” All this considered, it’s not surprising that “We know the shop is old-style, but we’ve found that people like how it isn’t computerised. They can come in and buy a bag of coal, a bar of carbolic soap, a few nails or screws.” when the brothers decided to put the Stores up for sale last year – following their long-standing plan to retire once Kieran reached the age of 70 – they were convinced it would sell as a going concern. By this time, Churchtown Stores had built up a 28-year strong business fully reliant on word-of-mouth – “We’ve never once had to advertise” – having forged many an iron-clad customer bond in the process. Sadly, this was not the case: permission has been granted for the first phase of developing a pub to replace the stores. Echoing the saddened thoughts of most locals, Leech says that she “will definitely miss the shop… To be honest, as a community, we’re not sure what we’re going to do now without it. The fact is, if you go to the likes of Homebase, there’s nobody there with the level of knowledge that the brothers have.” If the Flood brothers themselves were initially upset by the news, their current outlook is much like their natural disposition: positive. “[Our store replacement] is going to be an old-style pub, with food… We think it’ll do very well. There was talk about the new business keeping part of the name, and we told the new owner that we would have a few old artefacts to give them, for display, because they were interested.” With the 31st of January marked as Churchtown Stores’ last trading day, consumers old and new are converging to stock up on supplies – from out-of-production speaker wires to a final few bars of Lifebuoy soap (their stash of Sunlight has now fully sold out). Regardless of your shopping requirements, let a visit to this little gem claim the top of your to-do list this month, and watch the Flood brothers depart Braemor Road with their heads held firmly high. Churchtown Stores is open seven days a week on 14 Braemor Road, from 9am to 6pm: they can be reached by calling (01) 298 7778 or by emailing churchtownstores@hotmail.com. photo Karen Wade 34