A BUSINESS in Wrexham enjoyed a double celebration this week, with the stall marking it’s 50th anniversary of opening, while the owner turned 80 on the same day.

Mohammed Anwar, owner of the Anwar stall in the General Market off Henblas Street, opened on July 25, 1969, and five decades later, the owner and his son are still running it together.

Coincidentally, July 25, 2019 also marks Mr Anwar’s 80th birthday, and he has no plans to retire anytime soon.

Shabab Anwar, who runs the stall alongside his father Mohammed, explained just how the business has managed to stick around all this time.

“My dad came to this market in 1969, starting off with a very small stall the size of a changing room, and over the years we’ve managed to build it up to what you see now.

“Our ethos has always remained the same, to offer good prices, a good service, to look after our customers, we treat everybody with respect and kindness and that shows with our repeated customers.

The Leader:

Mohammed Anwar is celebrating his stall's 50th anniversary as well as his 80th birthday

“We’ve served generation after generation of people, and that has allowed our name to grow and to spread. My dad has been here serving so many different people, he’s almost become a part of history here in Wrexham with the same shop, the same name, in the same location for 50 years.

“In that time, we’ve gone through all the recessions, people opening businesses similar to ours, people trying to undercut us, but we’re still here because our ethos has never changed since 1969.”

Shabab went on to add that they have received many messages of congratulations from other businesses and customers on social media.

He also said they plan to keep Anwar’s around for a long time to come.

He said: “We’ve had a lot of support from other businesses here in the town, we’ve had messages from communities here in Wrexham, in Wales, England, even people from America have contacted us via Facebook to say happy birthday and congratulations, which is truly great.

“It’ll probably be a quiet celebration to be honest, once we shut up shop today we’ll be heading home where all the family will come together to celebrate his birthday but it won’t be anything crazy.

“I hope this place will be around for a long time to come, we’ve got a great thing going with the council, they support us quite a bit if we’re having any trouble with maintenance or rent then they are willing to listen.

“My dad is still here, he’ll be here until he’s put in a box, I’ll probably retire before him.”