One of Sudbury’s longest-standing traders has looked back on 40 years in the town.
Musa Zorba runs Starburger fast-food restaurant in North Street with wife Sally, whom he married last month, and his two sons.
Mr Zorba, originally from Cyprus, said he was aged 20 when he took over the business from his dad, and launched it as Starburger.
MORE: New restaurant could replace M&Co store in high street“Sudbury has changed a lot,” Mr Zorba said. “There was the cattle market and nice shops. Some have closed.
“I couldn’t walk in those days as there were people everywhere. Now the town is not busy like it used to be.”
Starburger’s burgers and cooked breakfasts are still proving popular, and some customers now visit with their own children or grandchildren.
MORE: Jobs blow for Suffolk town as silk factory plunges into administrationMrs Zorba, who started there as a waitress 30 years ago, described Starburger as a “little community hub,” adding she’s missing the social contact with their regulars.
“I miss the customers and conversations and stories, whether good ones or bad ones,” Mrs Zorba said.
On Starburger’s Facebook page it says “we offer a warm friendly atmosphere” and “our customers become our friends and our family”.
The restaurant is closed for sit-in trade due to the coronavirus lockdown, but the business is offering deliveries and takeaways.
Looking back, Mrs Zorba said: “I can remember when I first came here, even. I came as a customer with my children on a Saturday.
“You would have to queue up on a Saturday to come in and [we would] walk around town and come back again.
“The town is not like that anymore. It’s a nice little town, but some of the shops have gone. [There’s] lovely people in Sudbury.”
MORE: Have your say on how Chilton Woods development will lookShe remembers Kings, a deli, that used to be in Market Hill, and she said next door to Starburger used to be a greengrocers and fishmonger.
It will be 40 years since Mr Zorba opened Starburger on November 25.
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