Family-run Rushden shop restores Post Office service to the community

A Rushden shop which has been run by the same family for more than three decades has restored a Post Office service to its community.

Premier in Church Hall Road will now offer the service after Kishan Gorania became the Postmaster.

The shop has been run by his family for 33 years. His parents Umi and Dinesh started the shop and they still help out with Kishan now operating the family business.

The restoration of a Post Office service in the area comes after nearby Grangeway Post Office closed in January 2020 due to the resignation of the operator.

Kishan said: “Customers kept asking us if we could take on a Post Office. We have a lot of elderly people in the area who don’t want to travel far, so they are very happy and delighted.

"We are also seeing lots of new customers using the Post Office and they can do their weekly food shopping at the same time. We are very community-minded and we do fundraising for the Macmillan Cancer Support and other charities.”

Peter Bone, MP for Wellingborough, cut the ribbon on Friday to officially open Church Hall Road Post Office.

He said: “This is great news that there is now a Post Office again in this area of Rushden and it is very convenient that the branch is open daily.

"I am delighted that the Gorania family, who have served this community so well for more than three decades, have taken on the Post Office.

“Several banks have closed in the area. It is very easy for people to do their banking deposits here on behalf of all the major banks and people can withdraw cash as well. Also, people can send letters and parcels, do home shopping returns, pay bills, get Euros for holidays and pre-order other currencies.”

The opening hours of the new branch are Monday to Sunday from 8am to 6pm, offering 70 hours of Post Office service a week.

Anthony Bayley, Post Office network provision lead, said: “We are delighted to have restored a Post Office to this area as we know how important a Post Office is to a community. The branch’s opening hours make it easy for customers to visit.”