SISTERS Supa IGA at Lakeside Joondalup Shopping City is closing down.

Mindarie residents Peter and Cate Brodie, who have owned the independent supermarket for almost 10 years, said they were “very sad”, with the store set to close by the end of June.

“Our staff feel like family,” Mr Brodie said.

“Many have worked there for more than five years and some for the whole nine-and-a-half years.

“We are very hands-on so have worked side-by-side with many of them for a long time.”

He said they would also miss their customers who they have had the “privilege of getting to know”.

“They have allowed us into their lives and we have a partnership with them,” he said.

“We thank them for enriching our lives.”

He said their customers were the “heart and soul” of the store’s community work, which included a pay it forward scheme where customers could buy a $5 voucher to enable a person in need to have a hot meal from the deli.

“In the past five months, we have given out over 1000 meals,” Mr Brodie said.

He said the community had also rallied behind Share the Dignity’s campaign, collecting “40 trolley loads” of handbags filled with essential items for women in need.

Each Tuesday, the store also hosts a tea for seniors in its cafe section.

“Over the past nine-and-a-half years, we have seen people lose their partners and they get lonely and not very adventurous,” Mr Brodie said.

“So Cate created the weekly tea so the seniors can get out and meet people.

“Now we have 30-odd seniors who come.”

They also host catch-ups for fly-in-fly-out families and a fortnightly Memory Cafe for people with dementia.

Mr Brodie said they hoped to move these meetings to their Candlewood IGA store, also in Joondalup.

He said the decision to close was not easy and came down to financial reasons.

“The influence of Aldi and the reaction of Coles and Woolworths to Aldi has been a factor,” he said.

“Also the downturn in the WA economy.

“Our business partners really don’t have a competitive model that will allow us to compete.”

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