People who pop into the post office on The Square for a stamp or birthday card have recently also been able to buy from a modest range of basic, every day groceries on its shelves.
And, most interestingly, some foodstuffs are marked as ‘Happy Shopper’, the successor to the brand available till 1992 on Well Street in Ruthin at Warren’s, at the former cinema. Does this make the goods 20 years out of date? Among other Happy Shopper goods we have Happy Shopper penne. Would penne be classed as an every day item, I wonder, even in middle class Rhuthun/Ruthin?
Happy Shopper was once a so-called facia brand for independent grocers such as Warren's (trading as 'Warren's Happy Shopper') similar to Spar. It's now just a product brand. It's been taken over by Booker which itself is controlled… by Tesco.
Finally, what does this say about the post office's trading position that it needs to fill its shelves with groceries? In 2013, Castle Bell newsagent tried such a switch to a convenience store but this didn't last at all long.
Also, the post office, which is now selling food, doesn't seem to appear on the food hygiene standards website. Perhaps because it sells only pre-packaged products it doesn't need to. After all, this is a low risk activity and there's no refrigeration required. Proprietor Huw Hilditch Roberts should know: the hygiene scheme is administered by the county council and he's a county councillor.