End of an era: Falkirk store closes after over a century of service

A slice of retail history has come to a close this Hogmanay as Monfries and Sons, a family-run convenience store in Brightons, shut its doors after more than a century of business.

The shop, located on Pretoria Street, has been serving generations of customers since its inception in 1919, but owner Sandy Monfries has decided it’s time to move on. The closure, reported by The Falkirk Herald, marks the end of an era for a store famously described as a “retail time warp.”

In an interview with The Falkirk Herald, Sandy Monfries confirmed the shop’s final day will be December 31, 2024. “All the details of the sale to the new owners have been finalised,” he said. “So we thought Hogmanay would be a good day to close on. I’ve got mixed feelings about it – I’ll be sad to go, but those long hours are something you can’t keep doing when you get a bit older.”

Monfries and Sons has been in its current location since 1945, and its aesthetic has remained largely unchanged, offering customers a nostalgic trip back in time. Earlier this year, Sandy described the store to The Falkirk Herald as resembling something out of Peaky Blinders, the popular drama set in the 1920s. “Well, we’ve never had an offer for something like that, but that might be an option. It does look like something you might see in Peaky Blinders,” he said.

The shop’s unique charm has been a deliberate choice by Sandy, who started working there in 1977, at the age of 17. Reflecting on his decision to resist modernisation, he said, “We did have people come in over the years. They said they could refurbish the shop and they showed me pictures and I thought, well then it just looks like every other shop. I didn’t want that so it just stayed the same. People remember it because it is so different from other shops.”

Over the decades, Monfries and Sons has become a cornerstone of the community, with customers often reminiscing about their lifelong connection to the store. Sandy shared, “People come in here now and say, ‘I used to come in here when my mum sent me up here for messages’ and now they have a family of their own. It’s hard to pick out just one memory from all the years – there are so many different things that have happened. The customers have been great. People have been with us for years and years.”

The business was first established by Sandy’s grandfather, John W Monfries, in Main Street, Brightons, back in 1919. It has since been passed down through generations of the Monfries family, each adding their chapter to its storied history. Sandy, who started working at the shop as a teenager, summed up his experience: “It’s been hard work, but I’ve always enjoyed it.”