Skálavík’s only grocery store shuts down

”Neystið”, the only grocery store in the Sandoy village of Skálavík is shutting down after more than 30 years in business.

Store owner Elisabeth Myllhamar says that at the age of 70, the time has come for her to close her shop, as she cannot afford to hire staff.

At the end of this week, all goods will be sold out, and she will close the store.

Fast food

It is a big challenge that small grocery stores cannot compete with prices set by the larger stores, and selling fast food has been the only way for her to run a profit.

The closure is particularly unfortunate for the elderly villagers, she says, because many of them do not own a car, so they cannot drive to the nearby towns of Sandur and Skopun to do their grocery shopping.

So far, nobody has expressed an interest in taking over the running of the store, but if someone comes along, Elisabeth will be happy to hand the store over to them.

Translated by prosa.fo