Bognor Regis postmaster retires after 27 years running Rose Green Post Office

After 27 years, postmaster Mac Patel and his wife Naina handed over the reins of Rose Green Post Office in Bognor on September 8 to a new postmaster.

The couple said the last two years had taken its “toll” and they decided they needed more time to relax.

 “We worked flat out, but it was very rewarding time serving the community,” said Mr Patel.

“Customers really appreciated that we were open.

“Both the post office and the shop were super duper busy. We were having to make lots of extra trips to the cash and carry to keep the shelves stocked and to break down flour and sugar from large quantity bags to lots of smaller bags.

“We were also doing food deliveries after work for customers who could not visit. We were working from 6am – 10pm to get everything done.

The mayor of Bognor Councillor Phil Woodall at celebrations for the couple's 25th anniversary of running the post office (Image: Post Office)

“The post office was very busy with people wanting to send parcels to people that they could not meet as well as home shopping returns. People wanted to stay local and lots of people were doing their banking here – it was phenomenal.

“When we celebrated the store’s 25th anniversary in January 2020 with a big community celebration and many councillors, we had no plans to retire.

“However, the past two years took its toll and we decided that we needed to have more time to relax. We decided to advertise the vacancy and to retire if we could find the right person to take over.”

Luckily, the first person to view the business after it was put on the market by the couple was an experienced postmaster and within a week he had made a successful offer, they said.

During their time running the post office the Patels have carried out much work to the premises.

They extended the premises into the garden to increase the retail side of the business to include cards, stationery, toys, dry cleaning and repairs and household goods.

They then fully modernised the building in 2014.

MP Nick Gibb officially opening the new-look branch after its refurbishment in 2014 (Image: Post Office)

“Naina and I have put our heart and soul into our business,” said Mr Patel.

“We know the community so well and they really appreciate what we do. We are going to retire from running the businesses, but we are probably going to be helping out the postmaster once a week or on an ad hoc basis, which will be the best of both worlds.

“We can take things easier, but we can carry on serving our customers that we know so well and we enjoy all the banter.”

Post Office area manager Bradley Barnard praised the couple for their dedication to the community.

“Mac Patel is a great example of a postmaster,” he said.

“He is highly regarded by the community and many local postmasters, which is why so many people wanted to take over this branch.

“Mac and Naina have been very dedicated to this community, and they worked tirelessly during the pandemic, so now they have decided to retire.”