A FATHER and son team are celebrating 30 years of running their computer shop.
Matt Hartill, 49, and dad Ken, still working hard at 79, have run Computer Plus in Scarrots Lane since opening on December 5, 1992.
They have had a premises in the Newport shopping lane since 1989, and moved into their current, bigger, shop three decades ago.
Over the last few weeks it has been completely revamped and remodelled.
Where there used to be a big "internet cafe", this has been reduced to three seats now most people are online - but printing and scanning services remain very busy as not everyone has access to a printer.
Matt said his dad is amazing for 79, and although retiring is in the pipeline, he has not quite got there yet.
Matt said: "When we opened originally there was nowhere around to by computer games so we did a lot of that. HMV wasn't here, Currys wasn't in town."
They started off selling the Spectrum, C64, Amiga and then Sega Megadrives and master systems, had an internet cafe and E-Quest opened on site in 2002.
The business has adapted to the changing market over the years and now its main line is in selling refurbished laptops and desktops and doing general repairs.
While a lot of people buy laptops online these days, Computer Plus plugs the gap for those who don't really know what they are looking for and want some advice and to speak to an actual person.
The business finds that their customers are very loyal and some people do prefer to browse and ask questions before making a purchase.
Plus, refurbs are a third to half the price of buying new.
Scarrots Lane has a family fun Christmas day on Saturday - the perfect opportunity to check out Computer Plus.
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