A new convenience store has opened its doors in a County Durham town after the community lost its Co-op food shop earlier this month. 

Residents in Crook, County Durham, were devastated when the Co-op store on North Terrace closed on Saturday, November 5 - leaving some with a longer journey to their nearest shop or some older residents without little amenity. 

At the time of the closure, some residents in Crook took to social media to express their disappointment at the closure. 

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One user said: "Lovely staff, and I like Co op food, and their specials. Aldi and Lidl are ok, but you sometimes can't beat the original brands," while another added: "What a shame - so sad."

Despite the sadness expressed from the community, it was soon announced that grocery wholesaler Nisa would be taking over the shop and refitting the store with its own branding. 

Within the rebrand, all of the staff that worked at the Co-op have had their jobs transferred over - and on Saturday (November 12), the new North Terrace store in Crook opened its doors with a celebration ceremony with all of its staff members. 

Offering named brands and its own food brand, Nisa has promised to serve the County Durham community. 

Posting on Twitter on Saturday, the Yorkshire and Teesside page of Nisa said: "Today is the big opening day for Nisa local in Crook. A big thank you to the owners Sanjay and Baz and also to the store manager Janine and her amazing team. The store looks fantastic."

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