Kandos’s longest serving shopkeeper Alan Jackson is calling it a day after 51 years in his main street store - Alan Jackson’s General Store and 5 Star Supermarket. Although the news has come as a shock to local people, Alan says he’s looking forward to it now.
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“I made my mind up and that’s it. I want to do more things in my life.”
Alan has been a part of the local streetscape since he started working in 1965 at the age of 15 for the then owner Bob Roth who owned at least six stores across the region under the banner of RA Roth. In those 51 years, Alan has seen a lot of changes.
“Ninety percent of the original type of goods aren’t around anymore. We’ve also moved from rail freight to road, pre-packaging instead of bulk and the change from cash register to scanning machines.”
In the early days he worked under the store manager Tom Moss, later becoming the manager himself. In 1982 Alan bought the business and then eight or so years later bought the building.
He then set about restoring the shop to its original condition for the town parade that was held in the 90’s. He erected an awning at the front, concreted all the floors and built an extension on the back.
He certainly deserves a well-earned retirement. Most days he’s at the shop at 5am and closes at 5.30pm, seven days a week. The early start meant he caught employees on the way to work for their early shift looking for morning tea.
The closure of the Charbon cement works, then the Kandos coal mine, followed by the Kandos cement works and Charbon mine have had a dramatic effect on business.
Alan says he has no immediate plans, other than walking out of the shop in around a month’s time. He’s got the building on the market but has given up trying to sell the business.
“It’s hard to sell a business these days, but I’m not worried. I’m just looking forward to being able to do whatever I like. I’ve got no immediate plans but if I want to get in the car and go somewhere I’ll just go. I’d like to do a trip around Australia sometime,” he said.
