A WELSH-language bookshop which has been a fixture on Rhyl's high street for nearly 30 years has shut.
The closure of Siop y Morfa on Saturday marks the end of an era with owner Dafydd Timothy's family running businesses in Rhyl for four generations.
The decline of town centres, the rise of internet shopping and out of town developments along with tighter parking restrictions in Rhyl have been blamed.
Mr Timothy said: "It's very sad. It is the end of an era. I'm born and brought up on the High Street, the family has been in business in Rhyl for at least four generations.
"I feel relief, hopefully that the black cloud of debt that has been following me around will lift, but also so disappointed because you would hope you wouldn't have to do something like this.
"High streets generally have taken such a battering. Empty shops do not tell a lie. People now only come as far as the retail park and only a very small percentage come into the town.
"There is all the hassle of a lack of parking, this is what I hear from people who come in.
"It is a vicious circle, this is how town centres have gone, if you have out of town developments, then people are not going to come into town. People are buying more on the internet."
Mr Timothy said the advent of cheap air travel in the 1970s contributed to the decline of seaside resorts including Rhyl.
The shop which sells Welsh-language books, souvenirs and clothes, had been run as a shoe shop by Mr Timothy's great-grandfather.
Despite the closure Mr Timothy remains positive and is looking to take his business online and has recently passed a translation course.
He said: "We get Welsh speakers and Welsh learners. It is encouraging to see the number of Welsh learners in the vicinity, you have also got local Rhyl people who have re-found their Welsh identity.
"It's been more than a shop, it has been a service to the community. I feel part of Rhyl and I hope Rhyl feels part of me. The shop been good for the Welsh identity of Rhyl."