V&G Lombardo Fruit Market has been an institution for Goonellabah residents for the last 50 years, even those that commute from the coast would stop in to buy their fruit & veg. The sale of the business was finalised last week.

It was 1972 when Vince and Giovanna moved to Goonellabah to be closer to Giovanna's parents who were part of the Italian migration to the area from the 1880s onward, and at that time were living three doors down from the shop.

Regular visitors would know Giovanna as Joan. In 1973 the roller doors of V&G Lombardo Fruit Market were opened as Vince and Joan worked side by side establishing their new shop.

From day one Lombardo's has been a family business with children Franco (Frank) and Felicia roaming through the shop and helping out. As you can see by the photo below, the family part of the business continued over the next 50 years with Joan's grandchildren and great-grandchildren regularly seen in the shop once school is out.

(The Lombardo family, from left Kazia, Frank, Luca, VJ (Vince), Ruby, Gianna, Joan, Gabriel, Arabella, Joan, April, Jesse, Arlo and Felicia)

Felicia explained the after-school pattern, "They get off the bus, come in, have their little snacks and mum just goes running around crazily making sure they're fed. As well as serving customers in between."

The final day of trading for the Lombardo name is today. From Monday the shop will have a new name with new owners Dan and Laurel Sproule.

50 years is a long time for any business. To give you an indication of what life was like in 1973, Felicia said, "It was pretty much just paddocks to the right and paddocks to the left with grass up the road which was one in and one out in those days."

"We all knew everyone in those days. There were about 20 or so kids that played outside all the time. It was different back then."

As we are talking, Lindy, a weekly customer for the last four years, comes in with a bunch of farewell flowers. She buys some fruit & veg and then leaves with a teary hug.

"That's the third bunch of flowers today," Felicia says with tears in her eyes.

Will it be an emotional day tomorrow? (Saturday)

"Yes, I've got mixed emotions really because we've become very friendly with our customers. You know, we've built really great relationships with everyone so we pretty much know everyone's names. They share a lot with us, so much over the years."

Joan says that is the part that she will miss the most, the customers. "Some, I've known since we opened the shop 50 years ago. I want to say a big thank you to all of our customers who have supported us over the years."

From Monday Joan says her priority is her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. "I will be taking them to school, looking after them and looking after the house and garden still."

It will be a far different life to what Joan has been doing for the last 50 years, which was getting up at 4am each morning to be in the shop at 5:30am, work all day and close at 6pm. In the early days, Lombardo was open 7-days a week with a few hours taken off on Sunday for lunch and a rest.

When Joan's husband Vince, died in 2005, her son Franco became the other integral part of the daily running of the business. Getting up at 2am and initially driving to the Brisbane and Stanthorpe markets to get the fresh produce which later changed to ordering the fresh produce, still early in the morning, through agents.

Plus, the Lombardo's used to grow their own fruit and vegetables on the land behind the shop where Joan's home is.

"Frank used to grow a lot of produce quite a few years ago. At one stage, he had a field full of broccoli ready for picking which he was going to do the next day but something got in and ate them all, "Felicia reminisced, "There have been challenges like that, the weather and then time constraints in running the business so it became unfeasible."

Joan will keep ownership of the building. It was in 1988 when Joan split the building and let out part of the building which is now run by Tony Mathie who has the butcher shop with a walk-through from Lombardo.

As one chapter closes, another begins for Dan and Laura Sproul, the new owners, on Monday morning.

"That's life, isn't it?" Joan ended.

Feel free to pop in and see goodbye to Joan, Felicia and the Lombardo family tomorrow.