A Nisa convenience store in the village of Silverstone, Northamptonshire, is celebrating 50 years in business this month.

Croft Stores has been owned by the Croft family since November 1966, when it was first bought by Matthew Croft ‘senior’. His son Matt and daughter Sally then purchased the store from him in November 1998.

Matt and Sally are planning to celebrate in store one day next week with free wine and canapés for customers.

The store has survived and thrived over the decades despite four other convenience stores in the village being forced to close for business, which Matt describes as a “great shame”. The local butcher is also due to close over the coming weeks.

“We’ve survived by not taking anything for granted and always looking forward and pushing boundaries,” Matt told C-Store. “We’ve always been passionate about our store and the service we provide. If you enjoy what you do it makes a massive amount of difference.”

The 2,500sq ft store incorporated a post office last year which has been “nothing but positive”, Matt says. Sales are up about 8% year on year, and they plan to increase the range of fresh meat to cater for the loss of the butcher.