A story of shopkeeping heritage and modern re-imagination.

Kemps General Store was founded in 2017 by Liz Kemp, a shopkeeper's daughter and passionate advocate of the delights of her adopted home of Malton, North Yorkshire. The growth of the emporium means that there is now a proper bookshop in Malton that opened in 2020 and Liz has ended up back where she started with the creation of Kemps in Wetherby in 2024.

Liz grew up in the small village of Bramham, just over the way in West Yorkshire. Her mother and father ran a small shop in the village centre, on what was then the A1.

Growing up in such an environment made its mark on Liz, who saw first-hand the care and attention her parents put into running the successful business.

Real customer service existed then, even if it had no name. There was a profound recognition you were relied upon as a business – customers needed to know that you would be open when you said you were.

The focus was always on being able to help meet your customer's needs, whether that was providing them with the things they wanted or needed, or showcasing new things which they may have never seen before.

Today the shop stands as a testament to tradition and the old ways of doing things, a small oasis which reflects a slower, calmer way of life.

However alongside heritage, there is also certainly room for the new. Whilst the service may be exactly the same as all those years ago, the products are decidedly much more exciting!

Long before opening the doors, Liz hunted up and down the UK for the best of British - looking for exciting new brands and beautiful contemporary designs.

At Kemps, we hope you will find the things you most certainly want and may even need, such as an interesting book, lovely art, great cards, quirky things or a selection of beautiful tableware.

We also hope that you might uncover something more unusual... one of those little treasures which pops out at you on a shelf when you least expect it.