UK seaside town family-run chocolate shop closing down after 23 years | UK | News
Sweet Moments store (Image: Sweet Moments)
A beloved chocolate shop in East Sussex is closing due to “sudden age”. Vic and his wife, Karen Dowdey, have owned Sweet Moments in Seaford for 23 years but have decided now is the right time to retire and plan to do so in late April or early May.
Now the couple faces their final big challenge: the busy Easter period.
Karen, 64, told the BBC: “We’ve been working long hours preparing the gifts and can’t wait to get our feet up after Easter Sunday.”
The store is one of Seaford’s oldest on the High Street and its owners hope someone else will take control of the business.
Vic, 62, said: “After 23 years here we are old enough to retire and it would be nice to have someone else take over.
“There is interest, I don’t know if this will come to fruition.”
READ MORE: British chocolate maker and three other major companies go into administration
READ MORE: Luxury chocolate store in England goes into administration – ‘London’s best chocolates’
Chocolate shop located in Seaford (Image: Google Maps)
Karen concluded: “Age comes on very suddenly so it wasn’t really a difficult decision. If you own a store there are leases you have to sign and these are usually for 10 years.
“That’s a pretty long commitment when you’re approaching retirement.”
Sweet Moments has been stocking over 85 different chocolates imported directly from Belgium since 2003.
The website states: “Having lived and worked in Europe for many years and enjoyed the diversity and quality of chocolate that the Belgian people accept as a way of life, we can now bring some of the best chocolate and confectionery from mainland Europe to Seaford, all imported from Belgium and other European countries.”
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The business has almost five stars on Google reviews.
One satisfied customer, who traveled to Seaford to pick up the sweet treats, wrote: “Went into this shop specifically from Pevensey and it did not disappoint. We popped in without telling them and bought 11 boxes of their chocolates of various sizes and a few other chocolatey treats and there were no problems at all.”
Of course, we went and did our other shopping, and when we returned, it was all nicely packaged and ready to go. The staff were friendly and polite and the whole experience from start to finish was flawless.
If you want the best chocolates, plenty of choice and friendly service then this is the place for you. Small businesses really are the best.”
Sweet Moments isn’t the only UK-based chocolate company to close its doors this year.
Recently, British luxury chocolate company Rococo Chocolates went into administration. It was founded in 1983 by Chantal Coady OBE on the King’s Road in Chelsea, London, and has been trading for over 40 years.
Another company that went into administration was London-based Marasu’s Petit Fours, which supplies products to Prestat, Fortnum & Mason, Selfridges and Harrods. He was a prestigious British chocolate maker.
