An iconic Belfast sweet shop is saying goodbye this weekend after 46 years trading in the city centre.
McKay's in Queen's Arcade has seen thousands of loyal customers pop in for everything from a quarter of bons bons to a Cuban cigar since it was opened by brothers Henry and Sean McKay in 1976.
The family shop used to be one of a number that the family owned, with premises on Castle Lane and Castle Place as well as tobacconist Miss Moran on Church Lane also building up a dedicated following over the decades.
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Sean's daughter Natalie McKay has been running the business for the past 22 years, although originally started working there when she was 13 years old. Prior to that she would have helped her dad during busy periods such as Easter.
Speaking to Belfast Live, Natalie said that she was very sad to be closing the shop but it was the "right thing to do" for her family. However she will miss many of her regular customers dearly as they have become firm friends over the years.
Some customers sent bouquets of flowers and cards as a way of saying thank you, with Natalie also getting little gifts for those who she would have chatted to every day.
Natalie said: "My dad and uncle opened McKay's 46 years ago and used to run a number of different shops throughout the city centre. Most of our family have been involved in working in the businesses over the years and they have always been a huge part of our lives.
"Dad was always known as the Sweety Man in our neighbourhood and my friends would always get very excited to see him. Having your dad own a sweet shop like this was quite an amazing experience growing up and he would have had us in the shop helping him during busy periods when we were little and it was always very exciting.
"Since taking over running the business for him it has become an even more important part of my life and my favourite thing about it is our amazing customers who stop in to see us every single day to pick up a few bits and have a chat. Many of them have become good friends and we would know everything about what is going on in each other's lives and they also have some wonderful stories to tell.
"It is very sad that we have taken the decision to close our doors, but it is the right thing to do. After this weekend I don't know when I might be back in the city centre again because the thought of it is heart breaking."
Natalie said that the changing nature of the high street and people's working habits have impacted the store, as there are not as many people in the city centre as there normally would have been.
She said: "The lack of footfall here at the moment has really taken its toll on us and we felt that staying up longer would be a risk that may not be worth taking.
"With more people working from home we don't have the same numbers of people stopping in, although our regulars have never stopped coming to see us.
"I don't think we realised how much of an impact this shop has had on people's lives and everyone we have been talking to seems to have nice memories of coming here.
"I just want to say a massive thank you to all of our customers who have supported us over the years. I will truly miss all of your chats, smiles and stories."
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