A fond farewell as Scarborough shop is to close after 40 years

Trevor Wharton Carpets, which opened at 1 Ramshill Road in 1978, will shut for the last time on Wednesday October 31.

The business will still be operating but Trevor Wharton is “closing the store to focus on contracts”.

He added: “I have to travel to Scarborough from York every day which is 20,000 miles a year.”

The father-of-three also wanted to thank his Scarborough customers for the past 40 years of service.

“Thank you very much for your loyalty over the years and I will miss you all dearly.

"Also a massive thank you to my loyal staff who between them have probably done over 80 years with me.”

The “local carpet specialist” has expanded not only nationwide but worldwide from the corner shop where he first started.

Trevor, who is originally from Leeds, left school at the age of 15 and worked for a year as an office boy.

The start of his carpet journey began when he joined Floor Coverings, a company based in Leeds, which became one of the first big trade warehouses.

He was a carpet salesman and ran the estimates department, working out quotations using 3ft wooden rulers.

In 1970 he moved to Scarborough and worked for a carpet firm in Albemarle Cresent.

He took a leap to start his own business and left his job to start the business from his home whilst searching for a store.

He found the perfect unit at 1 Ramshill Road which was originally a greengrocers, Vaseys, run by William Vasey.

Trevor said: “A big part of history is being lost here as I am only the third person to own this shop.

"It was previously an old green grocers called Vaseys and then it was Robsons.”

The small business that began in Scarborough has provided many experiences for its owner.

One of the biggest highlights for Trevor was working on the refurbishment of the British Embassy in Mongolia.

And the business’s contracts are still varied, from work at 10 Downing Street to a school in Bridlington.

Trevor added: “We have contracts everywhere now, from schools, hospitals, restaurants, nursing homes and even trampoline parks.”

The other aspect of the thriving business, cleaning contracts, will also remain and operate under the name of Trevor Wharton Cleaning.

For his business Trevor spends a large amount of time travelling around the country and overseas for different contracts and customers.

But for his personal life this is no different as he is a dad and grandad.

He added: “I have four beautiful grandchildren. Two live in Surrey and two live just outside Amsterdam, so I visit Holland every five weeks to see them.”

The closure of the store in Scarborough will allow him to focus on contracts and his family.