A POPULAR baby shop is returning to Colchester, three years after it moved out of the town.

Roo’s Too is opening in Gosbecks Road this Saturday due to popular demand, featuring special guest Princess Belle from Beauty and the Beast.

Free professional portraits with Belle will be on offer, which can be transformed into keyrings, plus a host of crafts on display for the opening party.

Owner Donna Savill, who original ran Roo’s in Short Wyre Street, is keen to make it a shopping destination for parents, and excited to return to the town where her business began.

She said: “We were incredibly sad to leave Colchester. I didn’t want to leave but our lease was up, and we took the very difficult decision to move out.

“Our customers were always saying they wished we would come back.

“When a friend mentioned this unit was becoming available in Gosbecks Road we just said ‘let’s do it’.”

Roo’s opened in Colchester in 2012, and expanded into Chelmsford in 2014 with a second shop.

The store moved out of Britain’s oldest town in 2015 when its lease was expiring, and they could not find another property suitable in the town centre.

Now with a bigger premises, and a revamped name, Mrs Savill said the new shop would have a special play area to occupy children while their parents browse.

Gazette:

Even the original counter from the first Colchester shop is returning after being hidden away in safekeeping.

She said: “Colchester town centre is a wonderful place to be, but we know from experience shopping with children is a bit different and we feel this is the perfect place for us.

“It is such a large space and we have free parking out the front, which is a real help for our customers because they can bring their babies in in their car seats without disturbing them."

Roo’s Too will open at 11am with cake to celebrate.

A competition for one lucky customer to spend £50 in store on Saturday is being run at facebook.com/RoosBabyShop.

She added: “I’m really looking forward to it.

“It will be nice to see how the kids who used to come in when they were babies have grown up. I cannot wait to see all the old faces and lots of new ones too.”