The site of a new budget grocery store in Spanish Point has come full circle after the building was turned back into its original use of two decades ago.

T&L's Budget Warehouse, which officially opened this week by Terry and Lynn Rance, started life as Usher's Food Store under Herbert Usher in the 1800s before becoming O.R. Loblein Islandwide grocery chain and then Great Things.

The shop stocks everything from snacks, drinks, chocolates, crackers, condiments and pasta to paper supplies including plates, cups and towels, and rubbish bags, cleaning solutions, health and body care and personal hygiene products.

Most recently the store, which is based on St. John's Road, has been used as a warehouse for storage and an arts and crafts workshop run by Mrs Rance, having been in the family for more than 100 years and survived Hurricane Fabian in 2003 when its roof was blown off. Her great grandfather Thomas Miles started the Miles Market in Pembroke and her father ran a grocery store in Hamilton.

But the Rances decided to return the shop to its former glory as a grocery shop and completely refurbished it, keeping the original features and building pine frames and a counter with the help of Mrs Rance's brother and sister-in-law Philip and Barbara Pedro, grandson Aaron, and friend Sherry Tavares.

"The building was pretty disused and we wondered what we were going to do with it and decided to take it back to its roots as a grocery store," said Mrs Rance.

"We decided that we would like to open up a little grocery store, which would be going back in time to its original use in the early 1800s."

She said the focus of the store was to keep costs low for customers in these current tough economic times.

"We are trying to keep our prices as low as possible, especially in the times we are in now when things are sky-rocketing in value and we are trying to stock things that people need in the house on a daily basis," she said.

"We filled up one container that ended up turning into two containers and used Meyer Freight to handle the containers.

"As a small warehouse type shop we try to bring in a bit of everything and also break down products if people want to buy them individually.

"The interest has been very good so far - we have had a good response and lots of people are coming to see what we have got and come back to buy stuff.

"The comments are that it is nice to have something like this in the neighbourhood."

The shop is opened from Monday to Thursday between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. and from Friday to Saturday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.