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I run a 'Paisley' shop in Canada - Christmas this year will be special

Tracey Pettigrew's business is "starting to bounce back" after an incident early this year <i>(Image: Supplied)</i>
Tracey Pettigrew's business is "starting to bounce back" after an incident early this year (Image: Supplied)
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A Paisley woman who runs a shop in Canada has opened up on a "stressful" year after her business was impacted by a fire.

Tracey Pettigrew relocated to North America in 1976 with her family due to her dad's job.

In a bid to keep in touch with her homeland, she opened Paisley's - The Wee British Shoppe 15 years ago.

However, in March of this year, tragedy struck when a blaze ripped through the business in Ontario.

Tracey detailed the stress of the incident.

She said: "We received a call at 12.30am on March 6 that the building beside the shop was on fire.

"We ran down to our store in the middle of the night and watched the blaze take away all of our hard work.

"Unfortunately, the property was deemed unsafe to enter. This led to the business closing for six months and I was unsure if we could find a new location.

"I took some available space in a market site across the street to keep Paisley's name going as much as possible, but our space was limited and there was uncertainty as to whether the business could continue at this point."


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The shop has relocated to a new unit across the street (Image: Supplied)

However, much to the delight of Tracey and many locals, a permanent location was found for the store across the road from the old building.

The shop officially reopened on September 12, and Tracey was keen to thank residents for their support.

She said: "Since the opening, the support of our customers has still been tremendous.

"There are many people in our community still realising that we have reopened and we are still receiving such wonderful comments on our new space.

"People are happy to have access to the products they love again.

"It is extremely important to me that Paisley's has the same back-home feel that it had prior to the fire.

"My goal was always that people would walk into Paisley's and feel like they are back in Scotland.

"Things are a work in progress but I am confident we are moving in the right direction."

Tracey has been feeling more hopeful since moving into the new shop back in September (Image: Supplied)

Tracey has fond memories of spending time with her grandparents at their home in Gallowhill when she was younger.

She admits that a lot of the products in the shop were their favourites,

Tracey continued: "There is nothing better than someone walking into my shop and you can see the excitement of grabbing a Walnut Whip and saying 'my god, it's years since I have had one of those' or 'that candy reminds me of my mum or my gran'.

"I have some customers that end up in tears as the shop just brings them back in time, you cannot buy that sort of response.

"I also have pictures of Paisley all through the shop and I have even had customers look at the pictures and recognise someone in one of my pictures.

"It really is a wonderful experience."

While it has been a difficult year, Tracey is more determined than ever to make this festive period a good one.

She added: "Christmas is the most magical time of the year for Paisley's, as it brings home memories for everyone.

"We carry our Cadbury Christmas Selection boxes, Cadbury Tubs, Chocolates, Advent Calendars and so much more.

"There is also a British baker in the area who makes all our pies fresh, along with everything needed for a Scottish Breakfast.

"The fact we can make people feel closer to home is so important."

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