Joe's Pets goes up for sale after 50 years in Norwich Market

Joe Silvester opened his first business in the UK's oldest open-air market in the early 1970s where he sold fresh fruit, but facing stiff competition shifted his offerings to include pet food and supplies, renaming his stall Joe's Pets.

He has since witnessed the face of change firsthand from his cosy corner beneath a tree. 

Joe Silvester has been on the market for 50 years, seeing it firsthand through the many decades (Image: Newsquest)

"I've seen so much happen in the last five decades," Joe, 73, said. 

"I remember when Gentleman's Walk was pedestrianised in the 80s and everybody thought the market would die, and I remember the full refurbishment of all the sheds to stalls in 2005."

Joe's Pets has been a staple at the market for many years (Image: Joe Silvester)

Over his long career, Joe has worked with the BBC and ITV, supplying them with talking parrots to take part in television programmes, and with film crews who have used the market as a set. 

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But a recent health scare has forced the veteran stallholder to admit it is finally time for retirement. 

The market was a very different space when Joe set up his stall, as seen here in 1977 (Image: Joe Sylvester)

A customer buys pet food from Joe's Pets in 2021 (Image: Newsquest)

"I had a very serious case of pneumonia recently which made me realise it's time to move on," he said. 

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"My son Ben has been kind enough to work the stall for six days a week for the last 20 years but he is looking to start his own family now."

Joe has been helped by his son, Ben (Image: Newsquest)

Joe Silvester at Norwich Market in 2014 (Image: Newsquest)

The business is now going up for sale and Joe has been working with Norwich City Council to find a buyer, who he says has been "ever so good". 

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He also hopes whoever takes over Joe's Pets will take the business online, seeing a lot of potential in web sales, but never having had the energy to do it himself. 

Until a buyer can be found or the stall returned to the council, Joe will remain to oversee his familiar spot on the corner before spending his golden years in Bacton.

"I've seen the light of change and made up my mind," he added. "But what a fantastic journey it's been."