'Devastation' as Sheffield shop which championed Yorkshire food closes

A Sheffield shop which flew the flag for Yorkshire food produce has shut in a '˜devastating' closure due to financial difficulties.
Paul Widdowson outside Mr PicklesPaul Widdowson outside Mr Pickles
Paul Widdowson outside Mr Pickles

Mr Pickles, on Abbeydale Road, opened four years ago and championed provenance with local products - selling everything from fresh meat to jams and gins.The shop has closed and the business has been wound up by the courts.Owner Paul Widdowson said an unpaid loan taken out to set up the business had caused the closure.He added: “We were fighting until the end. We thought we had finance to sort everything out once we had sorted out the winding up petition but at the last minute it fell down.“It was a series of unfortunate events and we had to close it down - it is devastating.”Paul said it had been a ‘dream’ job to be able to champion food grown, produced and made in Yorkshire - much of it in Sheffield. The store was one of the earliest food shops to open on Abbeydale Road, now a foodie destination in its own right.Paul added: “We were really proud of what we were doing.“We would like to thank all the customers and the suppliers, everyone who came to visit us in the last couple of years. We really enjoyed bringing local food to them - we wish it could have continued.”Success in the food and drink industry is notoriously difficult, with many businesses struggling to last a year.Paul added: “My advice to anybody starting a food business would be to have a little pot of gold you can use.”