There have been appeals for information following a number of shop burglaries in Ballymena town centre.

The incidents at a number of commercial premises in the County Antrim town occurred during the early hours of Saturday 30^th August.

It was reported that at approximately 3am a male is believed to have broken the window of a shop front in the Broughshane Street area before entering the premises and making off with a drawer from the till.

It is also believed the same male entered another shop in the Larne Link retail site by smashing a window before making off with till drawers and a sum of money.

Detective Sergeant Marks said they were appealing for information.

“We are currently investigating a number of lines of enquiry in our efforts to identify the suspect and I am appealing to anyone who may have witnessed the incident or anything suspicious in the area to contact detectives on 101 quoting reference number 355 of 30/08/25,” said Detective Sergeant Marks.

The post Ballymena shops targeted in weekend thefts first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Having shared the newspaper headlines each day, Eugene is now making the headlines himself, following his decision to retire.

In a social media post, the popular retailer said that due to ongoing health problems, he had decided to put the business, including the building, up for sale.

“It’s sad to make this decision but since March I have had to step back from working my usual hours.

“I’ve had 45 great years here on Broughshane Street but all things come to an end,” he said.

Following his announcement, a number of tributes were paid to Eugene, thanking and praising him for his 45 years continuous service to the community.

Writer and broadcaster, Stephen Walker said Eugene had “contributed so much to Ballymena society”, adding he had “provided an invaluable service with your newspaper review”.

BBC journalist, Jayne McCormack said she was “devastated” to hear the news, adding his X account was the first thing she checks every morning.

“You’ve always been a bright light on what can be a dark platform…sending you the very best wishes for your future and health,” she said.

Many others also paid tribute to Eugene, commending him for his longevity in business and saying how they will miss his daily X posts sharing the newspaper headlines each morning, as well as upbeat photos and comments about Ballymena and the customers he serves.

Earlier this year, Eugene revealed he had been suffering from ill health and had been in hospital, adding that “seven day weeks over 45 years have taken their toll”.

The post Ballymena newsagent announces closure and sale of business first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

At approximately 10.50am on the day in question, a man was witnessed spray painting an ATM in the Wellington Street area of the town, before walking off and targeting another machine nearby.

When police responded, they located the man matching the description of the report and he was arrested for criminal damage.

He was taken into custody and was assisting officers with their enquiries.

Anyone with any information about this incident or who may have video footage, is asked to call police in Ballymena on the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference number 463 11/12/24, or submit a report online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/

The post Man arrested in Ballymena following criminal damage to ATM first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

On Wednesday 4^th December, police received a report at approximately 11.10pm of a burglary at commercial premises in the Wellington Street area of the town.

An unknown man had been discovered in the storeroom area of the shop, and made off on foot when the alarm was raised. It is understood the suspect had smashed a window in order to gain entry to the storeroom and stole a mobile phone belonging to a staff member.

Following this incident, police received a second report shortly before midnight of a rustling sound in the hallway of a flat in the Drumtara area.

Inspector Hewat said a man was located attempting to steal a television and was challenged by the reporting person.

“The suspect made off and is understood to have then tried to access other properties in the building before leaving empty handed,” said Inspector Hewat.

“At approximately 12.25am on Thursday morning, 5^th December whilst officers were in the area making enquiries – police received a report of a fire within the hallway of the flat complex.

SUSPECT TAKEN INTO CUSTODY

“Colleagues from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service attended and extinguished the blaze which is believed to have been started after a mattress was set alight in a storeroom.

“Three residents were trapped in their flats throughout the duration of the fire, and were unable to leave due to the amount of smoke.

“Thankfully, however, no serious injuries were reported – though we are treating this report as arson with intent to endanger life – and we could have been dealing with much more serious consequences today.

“The suspect, a 32-year-old man, was located by police nearby and was arrested on suspicion of threats to damage property, attempted burglary and arson endangering life with intent.

“I would appeal to anyone who may be able to assist with our investigation to contact us on 101, quoting reference 17 05/12/24.”

Alternatively, you can submit a report online using the non-emergency reporting form via www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/

You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org/

The post Man arrested in relation to Ballymena shop burglary linked to other offences first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Established over 40 years ago, in 1983, Dougies Goodies has established itself as the trusted bakery in the north west, providing the centrepiece for countless birthdays and adding that extra sweetness to special occasions for generations.

And after much demand, they have expanded the business and opened the doors to their very first Belfast store in early October.

It has taken some time to perfect this particular treat, taking over 12 months to find the right city centre location. Having had countless requests to open a store in Belfast, Dougie Coulter said it felt only natural for this to be the next step in the Dougies Goodies journey.

“We wanted a central location in Belfast city centre to be as accessible as possible, Fountain Street was a great fit for us as we are reaching a wide range of customers, and we can also be a stop-off point for tourists visiting the city,” said Dougie.

Similar in size to their Ballymena HQ, the Fountain Street store will enable them to give Belfast the full Dougies experience, with an area for cakes, buns, coffee, savoury snacks and much more.

“The entire team is so excited about our opening in Belfast, it gives us the opportunity to share our goodies with more people and be involved in an ever-developing and vibrant city like Belfast.”

Despite growth and evolution, what Dougies Goodies prides itself on is remaining a traditional bakery – using scratch bakery methods, making every product and packing every order by hand.

It was a very different beginning for Dougie, the man behind the brand, whose early days in employment centred in engineering.

“I didn’t always have an interest in baking. I had a job in Ballyclare as an engineer and I knew it wasn’t what I wanted to do, I didn’t like it! I started working in a small bakery once I left that job and that’s how I got my foot in the door of baking and how I grew to enjoy it,” said Dougie.

Once he got the taste of it, Dougie’s appetite for the industry grew and he soon opened his own business in Ballymena in 1983.

“In those days shops were scarce, we were lucky enough to get a small shop and bakehouse on Wellington Street, then later we moved to a slightly bigger shop on Mill Street.

“It was very hard work in the beginning, filled with long hours to establish ourselves in the town. Once we started making the birthday cakes, that got me very excited, as seeing generations of families coming in over the years for their Dougies birthday cakes filled me with warmth, it’s great to see.”

Starting out in the Wellington Street store with himself and three others, they were modest beginnings, however he was able to move to a new location on Mill Street, the bigger premises giving space for his team of 17, all critical as they started getting more customers.

Now in their current store on Church Street, Dougies employs 75 people, a figure set to grow with the opening of the second bakery in Belfast, something Dougie describes as “amazing” adding they are “lucky to have the staff that we do”.

Catering to everybody in those early days, the products were countless, ranging from bread, buns, traybakes and cakes. It was the introduction of the photograph cakes that raised the bakery’s profile and soon what they became known for.

“All our products have developed, with new flavours of buns and new creations, but we have all our original recipes for those favourites, like birthday cakes, but we have improved the photographs and cake toppers over the years!

“We did all the baking from the start, but the bigger bakehouse was introduced in the second store on Mill Street. We introduced our coffee machines in our current store, and they have been a great addition to the store.”

While their birthday cakes are always their bestseller, Dougies proudly boasts a range of firm favourites from their small cakes and traybakes, with customers returning for those ranges year after year.

In a bid to cater to more tastebuds, they also supply their wholesaler stockists with a box of ‘Dougie’s Favourites’ which consist of two French Fancies (chocolate and pink), a Jammy Dougie and their famous Iced Diamond.

Having always stocked some local stores in Ballymena, it was just this year they began to place a bigger emphasis on supplying their goods to the shelves of select stores from across the province.

“We didn’t expect the response to be as huge as it was and frequently have requests for new locations from both the public and stores themselves. If only we could stock everywhere that we are asked – the world would be a sweeter place!” added Dougie.

There came a period of transition for the company in 2022, when the business was acquired by Frank and Georgina Warwick. A loyal customer of Dougies Goodies for many years, Frank visited the bakery to order his wife, Georgina a birthday cake. Six weeks later, Frank and Georgina acquired Dougies Goodies, making it the most expensive birthday cake Frank had ever purchased!

Since then, Frank and Georgina, alongside an expanding team of passionate people, have been whisking up a storm, infusing the bakery with fresh ideas and exciting changes to transform and expand. Despite the recent changes and transformations, the original Dougies Goodies recipe hasn’t changed.

Dougie and his wife, Christine are still heavily involved in the business, working hard in the bakery to ensure each pastry, cake and sweet treat carries the same exceptional quality and homemade goodness their loyal customers know and love.

“I am still here every day working in the bakery, making your favourite goodies,” added Dougie. “I’ve used my original recipe for all the cakes and bakes over the years and have been so proud to share the same.”

Inevitably, given rising business costs, ingredients and energy bills, the business has worked hard to avoid passing these on to their customers, although price rises have been unavoidable.

“The costs of ingredients have gone up and like many food retailers, we have had to adjust our prices slightly to offset some of these costs,” said Dougie.

“We have chosen as a business not to compensate on our ingredients despite these price increases and pride ourselves that our goodies are still the same, high-quality product that they always have been, whilst still remaining great value.”

And this pride in their achievements is rightly justified, as Dougie explains they have had a “huge year”.

“There were many things to celebrate, the 40 years in business, the Belfast store and more! We celebrate all our wins, big or small every day.”

YOU CAN SEE THE FULL DOUGIES GOODIES FEATURE IN THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE OF NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER, CLICK HERE

The post Dougies Goodies – tempting tastebuds for generations first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.