For nearly three decades, a sprawling fruit and vegetable stall piled high with rosy apples, ripe bananas, punnets of strawberries and grapes and leafy greens has been a near-constant sight at Monument Place Market.
But London Road Fruit and Veg has traded for the last time, as owner Denise Grivosti made the difficult decision to close down her life's work after 29 years.
She said: "I've battled with myself for months, asking myself - should I do it? Shouldn't I? A lot of my customers are not just customers to me, they're friends, and that's what makes it so difficult. It's more than just a stall to me."
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Denise, 50, who lives in West Derby, set up the fruit and vegetable stall with her mum Rita in 1994. When Rita died in 2005, Denise carried on with the help of her sister Jennifer - and when Jennifer moved to Dublin, she soldiered on alone.
She said: "My mum wanted to do something for herself. I went to help her one day - and 30 years later I'm still here. I think I was destined to do it.
"It's been good and I have loved the job. I could never see myself doing anything else. But different things are making it harder. The area has been getting run down for a long time. TJ Hughes is going to go, Home Bargains is going to go. We're battling rising prices all the time. I've done this all my life and I've loved it, but it's just been too stressful since Covid.
"The hardest bit is letting my customers know I'm going to go, because they've been loyal to me for years. But we don't get a lot of footfall in this part of town. We've been getting quieter year on year. I used to open Saturdays, but after lockdown I gave them up because there was no one around."
The mum-of-two said she wanted to make a change "while she is still young enough to do it" - and will soon start her new job at Costco.
She said: "I still ask myself if I'm doing the right thing. I'll miss the interaction with the people. I've been here all these years and there's a lot of people here who are good friends.
"When my mum died I worked with my sister before she moved to Dublin, and when she moved I thought I'd never manage on my own - but everyone rallied round to help me.
"I've always wanted to give customers good service and food at the best prices, but with everything going up, I feel like I'm not doing the best by my customers. I know it's everywhere, but I do take it to heart."
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