Killyless Stores is at the heart of a rural community

Malcom McMasters Ltd, as it was previously named, was first registered in 1955, first as a mobile shop, then a few years later a two-storey building. It was a small shop that was run by Malcom himself.

He and his brother John lived beside the shop in a well-kept thatched cottage. The shop not only sold the daily essentials to the farmers, but it also bought potatoes, eggs and vegetables from local farmers to sell in the shop.

Malcom offered a delivery service to his customers with his own horse and cart. This was an invaluable service and Malcolm had customers far and wide.

Locals recall one winter, when the horse and cart was out on a delivery to Dunloy, 11 miles from the shop, they got stranded in heavy snowfall. A local man took the delivery man and horse into his barn, to shelter there for the night.

As time went on, the shop was sold, and the horse and cart delivery service was replaced with three delivery vans. This was a huge upgrade for the small business, especially as there weren’t many vehicles on the roads, never mind three delivery vans for one rural shop.

Another service that the shop carried out was candling and grading of eggs. This was done in one of the current meal stores. They were then packed onto lorries and transported to Larne, where they were shipped to Scotland for sale.

Also within the grocery shop was a cheese wheel and bacon slicer. The cheese and bacon were sliced to the desired amount and then wrapped for the customer. So not only did the shop attract farmers, but also the local community who bought their groceries there, plus coal and other household essentials.

At that time there were up to 20 employees within the business.

In 1957 a well-known local man named John Logan began working for Malcom McMasters Ltd. He was employed for 61 years, making him the longest serving employee. John had worked for many different owners during his time there. In his early days he worked the egg machine, grading the eggs, but also served customers throughout the store.

John retired in December 2018. He saw many changes over the years, especially when the Post Office was installed.

John has many fond memories of working there and still calls regularly to avail of the Post Office and have a catch up with the neighbours. John was known for his friendly personality and how immaculate he kept the yard.

His wife, Jean, also worked there, mostly in the grocery shop. She was also a long-term employee and a friendly character that many locals admired. John and Jean Logan are a great example of what Killyless Stores is all about - local people serving local customers.

In 1961 the store was sold again, this time to a Ballymoney company, ET Green.

At this time there were no forklifts, instead they used an elevator to stack bags of meal. In 1970 the delivery vans were no longer required and were sold to locals. One of the buyers was my late grandfather, Patrick McAtamney, who used it to store his pig meal in.

One delivery van was then bought that had a crane attached to the back. This was to manoeuvre the half tonne bags of meal. In 1988 the first forklift was purchased.

In July 1995, Trevor Overend became the owner, and the business was then renamed as Killyless Stores.

It was named after the townland it’s situated in. In 1998 Trevor bought and introduced the local Craigs Post Office into the building and purchased the second forklift, but unfortunately the grocery store was closed. This is most likely due to competition from larger stores in bigger towns.

The meal store and hardware side of the business continued to grow.

Sadly, in April 2021, Trevor passed away from a long-term illness and the business is currently being run by his wife Caroline Overend.

The local community relies heavily on Killyless Stores. There is currently one member of staff running the Post Office and five members of staff, including myself, running the meal and hardware section of the business.

The store supplies local farmers with the essentials they require, such as meal, fertilizer, animal health products, dairy hygiene products, herbicides and many more items.

They also supply building and plumbing materials such as sand, gravel, concrete products, cement, plumbing fittings, draining pipe and just about anything else a farmer or tradesman would require.

The clothing department, household items and in-house Post Office attract many local customers who can be seen in the shop regularly.

The older generation can often be seen using the Post Office and this is because they enjoy the personal interaction with local staff and a daily catch up with old friends.

The safe environment that Killyless Stores has continued to provide over the years puts the older generation at ease from the very common issue of money fraud.

For many, it is also a lot simpler than having to use online banking.

Killyless, like any other local store that has been in operation for over 60 years, is a meeting place for the community.

As farming is a lonely occupation, these types of rural businesses are the only interaction some have with others.

During the Covid-19 global pandemic, Killyless Stores was deemed an essential service. Farmers still required animal feed and supplies for their animals.

For those who were isolating or shielding during the pandemic, Killyless Stores provided a delivery service, just like they did when the store opened all those years ago.

While the economy is tackling the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, local farmers are noticing the impact it has had on their businesses.

Killyless Stores, and other agricultural merchants, have felt the effects of this.

Killyless Stores is a small business that provides an essential service to the local community and is a prime example of why supporting local businesses is so important.