'We will miss you all so much' – Legendary Wolverhampton shop owner calls it quits after 41 years behind the counter
The proud owners of an iconic Wolverhampton shop have tearfully waved goodbye to their days behind the counter, closing the shutters for the final time after 41 years at the forefront of their community.
Lovingly known as Mr and Mrs Paul, Gurdas Ram, 82, and wife Meeto Kaur, 86, became the new owners of Pauls, on Harrowby Road, Fordhouses, in 1983 after taking advice from his two sisters to get into the 'shop business'.
When he finally decided to take up the reigns he packed-in his factory job in Bedford and swiftly bought a Fiat Ducato van to move his family to the Black Country, where he has now called home for over 40 years - running his shop which at one point had several paper-boys delivering hundreds of newspapers to locals every day.
Gurdas made the emotional decision to sell the shop in the last couple of months, and, thanks to the families solid reputation found a buyer almost immediately when his sons Narinder Paul, 47, and Mukesh Paul, 51, put the word out.
On Thursday, September 5, they did one final stock-take - served their last customer and locked the door for the last time - and want to thank the community who they said have 'really looked after' them over the years, who they'll 'miss badly'.
But the well-known couple said they'll still see their regulars most days, as they've chosen to remain in the city which has shown them love since they first pulled up all those years ago.
Speaking to the Express & Star, Gurdas, said: "First things first, we are going to miss the community badly, really badly, they have supported us for forty years and it's because of them my family had food on the table.
"When you come to our shop it's not even like a shop, it's like a community centre, people come here for a chat to see each other and make sure everyone is doing ok.
"I serve grown ups here who met me when they were toddlers. I've watched them grow up and become wonderful people.
"It's so emotional making the choice to close, but I have watched my family work in the shop for years and now I just want them to be able to put their feet up, they've earned their rest.
"The most enjoyable part of owning the shop? The people. Over the years we have met and served many new people who we now regard as great friends.
"When we talk about wanting to thank the community, we really mean it, we've had our windows smashed in several times and every time it happened they would always come and make sure we were ok, they used to say 'We are with you' then they would call the police and get them to sort it out. It really is very emotional to say goodbye to this stage of our lives."
Meeto added: "The ladies that live here and who lived here when we first arrived were so welcoming to me, they would take me out shopping and I made many great friends.
"The people who I spoke to every day in the shop were such wonderful people, many great people, I will miss seeing them as much as I usually do.
Gurdas and Meeto, who are parents and grandparents, moved to the area in 1983, Gurdas's sisters owned shops themselves and convinced him to make the jump, at the time he was working for TI Interlock Engineering in Bedford.
Gurdas, said: "I was working in a factory in Bedford and to be honest, I was quite happy doing that. But eventually they convinced me and so my brother-in-law found this shop, the rest is history.
"We've had such a good time here, there's one customer I serve to this day, and when he was a kid he used to deliver papers for me, we used to deliver hundreds of copies of the Express & Star every day."
Speaking about the future and on some of their favourite moments, Gurdas and Meeto said they plan to spend some time in their home country of India and in their local pub in the area where the community spend their social time together.
Meeto used to go to India every two years, but since Covid she has not been able to visit their extended family and will now have the time to do so.
Gurdas said seeing the children who would run into the store and pretend to serve their parents behind the counter, and the many dogs that would wait by the door until they were offered a treat are some of the moments he'll never forget.
Gurdas said: "The little children would walk in, run behind the counter and say to their mum and dad '20 pence please!' it was so funny to watch. And dogs would sit by our door for as long as they needed to until we gave them a treat. The community has treated us so well, we just want to offer a huge thank you to all of them.
"Im 82 now, I can't do much, but we hope to see you all on our walks around the area and at the pub for a drink, it has been quite a journey, worth every moment."