BREAKING: The only convenience store in this Kildare village is closing down

The only convenience store in a village on the outskirts of Naas is closing down.

The Centra shop in Johnstown is due to shut on June 7 after almost two decades.

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Proprietor Alan Jordan said the store is not fit for purpose because it is not big enough to meet the shopping needs of an area which has seen significant population growth in recent years.

Mr Jordan, who lives locally,  said that he is very disappointed to have to close and is doing so with a heavy heart - but it’s a commercial decision that was unavoidable.

“We have tried to buy three other sites in Johnstown over the last 12 years at various times and we were not successful. When this happened we reinvested €250,000 into the shop," said Mr Jordan.

The Jordan Group has stores in eight other locations in Dublin and Kildare - including Curragh Grange, near Newbridge, Caragh and Rathcoole.

“This is a business that’s expanding and growing but the community has outgrown the premises. We are opening a new 4,000 square foot premises in Tallaght in a week and that’s what we need to be able to do in Johnstown. If we had an appropriate business setting we could move to, we would. We cannot stock all we need in Johnstown, like we can in other outlets.”

Cllr Fintan Brett

The  business and its ten staff are extremely popular within the community and the enterprise has also supported local sports clubs, community groups and charity fundraisers, including Christmas Day events.

Naas Mayor Cllr Fintan Brett, a local resident, said the closure is bad news in a village that has no pub and a community centre built 26 years ago but which never opened.

"This is a shock for a lot of people and it's the last thing a village with 1,000 people needs but it wasn’t possible to get a bigger site,” added Cllr Brett.