For Rupa Keshwara and the family behind Keshco Stores, community retail is not something that happens around the shop. It is the shop.
Costcutter Kirton, known locally as Keshco Stores, has been part of village life in Kirton, near Boston in Lincolnshire, for more than 40 years. Established by Keshwara's parents, the 1,800 sq ft family-run store is now operated by the next generation – Mandy, Rupa and Suni – who have retained the values of service, care and community that shaped the business from the start.
The store serves a broad mix of customers, from families and schoolchildren to tradespeople, elderly residents, multi-generational households and a growing Eastern European community. Many customers are daily visitors, creating relationships that go well beyond the traditional shopkeeper-customer transaction.
The Post Office is central to that role. For elderly and vulnerable customers in particular, it provides access to essential services close to home, but it also offers something less tangible: familiarity, conversation and reassurance.
That philosophy extends into the everyday running of the business. Keshco offers free delivery to elderly or unwell customers, checks in when regulars have not been seen for a while and provides lifts home in bad weather or when someone is vulnerable.
Inside, there is a seating area designed to encourage conversation and reduce isolation, alongside a community noticeboard carrying local information and events. The team also helps customers who struggle with digital access, including support with online forms and translation for non-English speakers.
The family has also built a substantial programme of fundraising and practical support. Over the past year, Keshco raised £700 for Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance through a coffee morning, cake sale and raffle, donated £200 to the local fire brigade and supported Kirton Youth Club with fundraising for a new boiler. It has backed a local defibrillator initiative, sponsors youth football and runs annual Christmas charity raffles.
The store's community reach also stretches beyond Kirton. It raised £3,000 for the One Love Project in Uganda, supporting education for vulnerable children, and continues to sponsor a child at One Love Junior School. The family has also volunteered at a school for disabled children.
Perhaps most revealing is the way the family approaches difficult situations. When young people are involved in shoplifting, the preference is not automatically to reach for the police. Where appropriate, the team works with the young person, their family and schools, focusing on education, accountability and changing behaviour.
That people-first approach has not come at the expense of commercial resilience. Despite a new Co-op opening nearby, the store has maintained sales, which the family attributes to the loyalty built through decades of being present in the community.
With 10 local employees alongside the family, Keshco has effectively created a wider team of community ambassadors. For Keshwara, the competitive advantage is not simply what sits on the shelves. It is the fact that, for more than four decades, the store has kept showing up.