Brecon’s oldest family-run take-away has closed after 40 years.

Watergate Fish Bar has shut its doors for the final time on Saturday, September 3.

The shop had been providing traditional fish and chips to the Brecon and Radnorshire community in its current guise since 1982.

It was then taken over by the Lally family, and run by Des Lally senior, now 81, alongside his wife Anne, now 79.

Their son, Des Lally junior, 47, helped run the fish bar alongside his parents, and said the whole family was proud of its achievements.

“When we first bought the shop many years ago, we were only one of a handful of places to eat in town, now there are up to 40 or 50 including the pubs, so it’s certainly something we are very proud of to have stood the test of time since the early eighties,” said Des junior.

The decision to close after four decades of service was taken around 18 months ago–with this summer seen as the expiration date–as Des Lally senior and Anne Lally decided to retire.

“They loved it every day and met some amazing people, but they probably deserve to take it a bit easier after 40 years and just need to put their feet up, said Des junior.

The fish bar was adored by members of the local community, with many showing their gratitude and appreciation for the family following the announcement.

Ceri Woodbridge, 44, from Llanfaes, Brecon, was one of many to pay tribute.

“I’ll be sad to see them go, it was run by a lovely family, I will always remember them giving me batter scraps for free as a child, said Ceri.

Des junior admitted that the support was brilliant for the family to receive.

“After putting it out there on social media, we have been inundated with messages and goodwill gestures.

It really was quite humbling the way that the community responded.”

The family also had time to praise the local community for their loyalty to the shop over the past four decades.

“For some people, it has always been a major part of their life.

“We’ve had people who came here in year one (1982) and they would still come back every year, so it just goes to show how good the people are, said Des junior.

However, the 47-year-old refused to rule out Watergate Fish Bar re-opening again in the future, with himself at the helm.

Des junior said: Never say never, you don’t know what’s around the corner and you don’t want to burn any bridges.

“We will look into what our plans are for the future when the dust has settled.”