A.E. Hartley & Son: 'End of an era' as popular family shop in Sheffield prepares to close after 64 years

A.E. Hartley & Son opened on Blackstock Road, on Sheffield’s Gleadless Valley estate, on November 23, 1960.

Alan Hartley set up the shop when he was just 19 with the help of his mum, Janet, and dad, Alan Edward, after leaving his job as a mechanic at Kennings Motor Company. His sister, also called Janet, worked there from the beginning too.

Alan and Janet junior are still there more than six decades later, having served the community tirelessly along with the rest of the family for all these years.

But they are both now in their 80s and have announced their well-earned retirement, with the shop set to close for good on Friday, October 25.

Announcing the news on social media, ‘Team Hartley’ wrote: “Thank you for your friendship and custom over the years.”

The family business began life as a fruit and veg shop but expanded to sell a much wider range of goods, including everyday essentials, greeting cards and helium balloons.

The family originally lived above the shop, where Janet senior continued to work until she was 90, before she sadly died two years later.

The shop remains a family affair, with Alan’s wife Pat, his daughter Karen and son Lee, Lee’s wife Helen, and Karen’s husband Keith Johnson, all working there, along with Alan and Janet junior.

Alan’s grandchildren Jamie, Thomas, Amy and Ben all help out at the store too.

Janet said: “It’s the end of an era. There are customers who have been coming here for years. People come back in when they’re visiting relatives on the estate, and it’s like coming home for them.

“We’ve really done our best for the community and we’ve enjoyed running the shop. It will be a very sad day when we go, I think there will be many tears. The customers are quite shocked but we can’t go on forever.

“We have a lovely family. They’re so supportive and we always know they will come when they’re needed. We’re very fortunate.

“We’re a unique shop. We’ve managed to keep going despite the growth of the big supermarkets. There was none of that when we started.”

Alan previously told how the store had always been there for the community, with people coming in to get staff to open jars for them or to leave keys for their husbands to pick up.

They have also kept a book allowing customers to pay things off a bit at a time, they’ve sent packages of sweets to people who’ve been serving in Afghanistan, and they’ve made goodie bags at Christmas for shoppers living alone.

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Janet said the premises had been sold to Sheffield City Council and would no longer operate as a shop after October 25. She added that she was not sure what the council has planned for the unit.

Asked about her own plans for her retirement, she said she was looking forward to a ‘well-earned rest’.