Owners of The Fine Food Store in St Mary's Street, Stamford sell business

The owners of a popular Stamford café have bid farewell to the business after two decades of hard work.

Jenny Fitzpatrick opened The Fine Food Store in St Mary's Street at 22-years-old, and has been running the business with her husband Pete for the past 19 years.

In a case of right timing and wanting to focus on the family, the pair have decided to sell the business and look ahead to new beginnings in the future.

"It's been very weird," said Jenny. "Obviously having had the business for 19 years it's been incredibly sad.

"Both Pete and I have felt a lot of grief going overnight to not being able to see customers and not being able to work with the team but equally it feels like it's the right time.

"The new owners have got lots of wonderful ideas to bring into the business so it continues to flourish for the next 20 years."

Jenny previously retrained as an academic so even before selling the business she was less involved than previously.

"Pete's been running the business by himself which is a lot for one person," she said.

"We've decided to focus on being a family."

In the future Pete is looking to be a foster parent for children, as well as spending more time with his son Tom, becoming a coach for his sports team.

Since handing over the keys to the new owners, the pair has been left overwhelmed by the community's response since they announced they were leaving.

"I think one of the best moments is when we put the post on Facebook to announce it, the messages we got from customers, local suppliers and team members, both former and present, to share their memories from events we've catered for or times they have come into the shop - they were such fond, wonderful memories.

"Being part of the local community is so fantastic."

The business has changed a lot throughout the years, starting first as a deli and becoming more of a coffee shop to fit demands.

"I think Fine Foods became part of people's daily routine in the community which was really great to see," Jenny said.

"I'm not sure we did anything to facilitate that but it was the team who did, and continue to be, really friendly."

As she leaves the shop behind, Jenny is encouraging people to continue to shop and support independent businesses in the Shop Stamford group.

The business is set to open under new ownership on Thursday, November 18.