IT’S the end of an era for the Gawler Arcade Snack Bar, with long-time owners Tom and Aisley Hancock shutting up shop to move on with the next stages of their lives.

The couple have been serving Gawler locals coffee and tasty food for nearly 14 years, after they bought the business in November 2005.

Ownership of the snack bar officially changed hands on Monday, but regulars will still be able to see Aisley working in the store for the short term.

Tom said it was sad to let the business go, but he’s looking forward to what the future will bring.

“I have mixed emotions at the moment, I want to take a different angle with my life, but Aisley is going to continue on at the shop for a minimum of four months,” he said.

“I’m 64-years-old, my whole body is starting to tighten up and slow down, but it has been a very sad week for us.

“We’ve loved it, we hadn’t done this type of thing before when we bought the snack bar.

“When we came in it was so busy all the time, but there were girls who had been at the store for quite a while and they showed us around the place.

“I had always wanted one (a snack bar), so when the opportunity arose we thought, ‘bugger it, let’s go for it’.

“I didn’t realise it was going to get into my blood like it did.”

Customers were notified last week about the sale of the business, with one person so thankful for the Hancocks’ work that they tipped a staff member $100.

“It’s been a bit sad this week telling the customers that we won’t be here, there is definitely mixed emotions,” Tom said.

“It’s been enjoyable over the years meeting hundreds of different people.

“The most important thing has been the number of friends we’ve made along the way.

“A lot of people like coming here, sometimes they don’t even buy anything, they just come in for a chat.”

Tom added the business’ new owners were looking to change the name from Gawler Arcade Snack Bar, and had plans to renovate some of the shop.

While customers will still be able to see Aisley’s recognisable face at the store for the time being, she is planning a career change in the not-so-distant future.

“I’m thinking of taking up philosophy at university,” she said.

“Last Tuesday, we told a lady we were selling the shop and she said that when she first came to Gawler she was in a bad way and dealing with some issues.

“She said we helped her to heal and helped her to live again, it really touched me.

“There are lots of special memories, for sure.”