Sagebury Fine Foods on Cheap Street is closing up this coming Saturday after 14 years serving the people of Frome - many of whom have turned it into a social destination as much as a well-loved and served deli.

But the owner and director tells Nub News that while he is sorry to go, it is time for him to take some time off, and he hints that customers will not have to wait too long to continue to enjoy some of the delicious speciality cheeses in the future.

On details of that he will not be drawn, but Paul Dumpleton is keen to thank those loyal customers and the many,many visitors, from all over the UK, who have enjoyed his wares over the years.

He is taking some semi-retirement time off, while the premises, after some rewiring and renovations will be re-open as a tapas venue is around five weeks time.

The sixty two year old told us: " We have had 14 glorious years here, we have met some lovely lovely people. The customers have been fabulous.

" We shall miss them - but we wont miss the hard work, " he admitted.

"Especially most recently It has been a tough year what with coronavirus and the way the pandemic has panned out, but we are not closing for financial reasons, we are just closing because it is the time in my life to get some personal time back."

Paul has had a long history in food retail, starting when he was just 17 and ending up managing all supermarkets for the Safeway group prior to them being acquired by Morrisons.

He explained : " Eventually I decided to run a small business on my own, it is the same work I had in large retail, just on a micro scale. The nicest thing about running a small deli is how well you get to know the customers. We have a regular cohort who come in here and socialise, so it has became a bit of a Frome hub in many ways."

As we stand outside to take a photograph, Nub News too meets one of his customers, quick to thank the company for all their help and support over the years.

Although he is keen to stress the cheese and delicatessen business is NOT closing for commercial reasons, he is keen to point out how high street operations are so unfairly treated compared to the on-line retail market.

"I think the biggest change (for businesses) in the last decade has been in the growth of the internet, which has not helped the high street at all. I think there needs to be some kind of campaign to level up the playing field.

The internet is a very low cost space to operate compared to any other retail business, compared to any High Street, in any market town like Frome you have to pay rent and rates which all adds to your costs.

"The internet companies simply don't pay as much because, if they are big, they are generally on out-of-town industrial estates and the costs are so much lower. It will be interesting to see where the High Street goes in the next decade. I certainly hope it survives."