December has seen plenty of excitement as new businesses opened across Hertfordshire, but lots of sadness as beloved stores closed.
Here's seven businesses that opened or closed this month.
1. Gaffer - Welwyn Garden City
Owners of a menswear retailer that has opened in Welwyn Garden City are as "proud as punch" with their new Howard Centre store.
Gaffer was officially opened this month having expanded from their popular Hemel Hempstead store.
"We received the keys to our new store on Monday and with some proper old school hard graft and fantastic support from the guys at The Howard Centre we have managed to create the best Gaffer possible," said owners Ken and Sharon Biggerstaff.
"We are totally chuffed with the results. Totally cream crackered, but proud as punch."
Selling popular brands, including Sergio Tacchini, Ben Sherman, Lambretta, Fila and Weekend Offender, they will be hoping for further success in Welwyn Garden City.
2. German Doner Kebab - Baldock
German Doner Kebab has opened their first motorway service outlet at Baldock Services on the A1(M) in Hertfordshire.
The new eatery, which opened on Monday, December 11, is offering its brand new breakfast menu alongside their traditional kebabs.
The breakfast menu is only being trialled in Baldock and at one location in London, and offers items such as a doner egg brioche, a 'big breakfast wrap', a doner panini, and hash browns.
Simon Wallis, CEO of GDK, said: "GDK has been revolutionising the kebab across the UK and it is a huge moment for the brand to now make our game-changing kebabs available at breakfast.
"At GDK, we are on a mission to bring the kebab out of the shadows and reverse the stereotypical associations the great British public have with this product.
"I can think of no bigger statement that demonstrates our confidence that we can do this than the launch of our new breakfast range - the doner egg brioche and the big breakfast wrap are a whole new taste experience for breakfast, who would have thought it…a kebab for breakfast?"
3. Sam's Pizza - Hitchin
A popular pizza pop-up business has opened its first permanent store in Hitchin.
Sam's Pizza originally operated from The Brickyard in Bancroft, as well as appearing at street food events across the UK, including Hitchin Street Food Monthly.
The business now has a permanent home at 103 Bancroft, and they celebrated their grand opening last Friday with a weekend of pizza deals.
For a long time, the unit had been occupied by Eat Well, a Chinese takeaway restaurant, but the business permanently closed back in August and the space was left vacant.
4. Next - Hatfield
Next has confirmed that its store at Hatfield's Oldings Corner Retail Park is closing down.
Rumours about the future of the store have been circulating online over the past week, and now the fashion retailer has confirmed the store will be close its doors for the final time in January next year.
"We can confirm that the Hatfield store will cease trade on January 13, 2024," a Next spokesperson told the Welwyn Hatfield Times.
It will be the second Next store in Welwyn Hatfield to close in the past two years, after the retailer closed its Howard Centre site in Welwyn Garden City back in January 2022.
5. Snips - Harpenden
Hairdressers Snips of Harpenden has closed its doors after 49 years in the town.
Tony Seabrook purchased Snips barbers when he was 19 years old. He later bought ladies' salon Charms, in 1982, and brought it under the Snips name.
Tony and his wife Sue are now retiring, and The Hertfordshire Centre For Dentistry will be taking over the premises - having operated upstairs in recent years.
Tony told The Herts Advertiser: "We have lots of wonderful memories and, being a Harpenden staple for so many years, of course some of these include some famous and some infamous Harpenden residents!
"Mostly though, our memories are of being a nice community-based salon where we have welcomed and watched our customers’ families grow, some of these families have been coming to us for four generations.
6. Specsavers - Potters Bar
A unit in Potters Bar town centre has turned from blue to green, after Specsavers took over the former Barclays bank branch.
The store in Darkes Lane - which was officially opened by the Mayor of Hertsmere, Cllr Chris Myers - has four optical testing rooms and a dual audiology room for all hearing concerns.
There is also an optical coherence tomography machine, which takes a 3D structural scan of the eye to help detect a range of eye conditions, including glaucoma and cataracts, up to four years earlier than traditional methods.
7. The Honest Fig - Royston
An artisanal cheese shop has opened in Royston, after a successful few years trading at the town market.
The Honest Fig set up shop at the market in 2021, when Linda O'Sullivan noticed that there was no cheese stall and approached the market manager.
After a six-week trial, the cheese stall has had a pitch for the past two years, doubling in size and proving popular with customers.
Linda said: "I’ve always enjoyed a passion for good food, and I’ve always loved cheese, but I never thought that I would be lucky enough to start my own small business.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here