A CHARITY auction for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance will be among the highlights of the official opening on Sunday of a new venture for an award-winning family food firm at Snape, near Bedale.

Carricks Fish has invested £120,000 in converting and extending a building formerly used for storage and refrigeration into a shop which, with offices on the upper floor, will specialise in selling a range of fish products as well as other food and wines from leading North Yorkshire producers.

The shop, which will also deal in mail order and gifts, opened on Tuesday, pending the wider weekend celebrations where lots at an auction professionally conducted by Robin Jessop, of Bedale, will include an England football shirt signed by the team which won the 1966 World Cup. The official opening will be conducted by Coun Ellen Dunning, Mayor of Bedale.

Carricks, best known for selling fish, fruit and vegetables at markets in Bedale, Northallerton, Leyburn, Richmond and Ripon, was founded in 1929 by the late Herbert (Bert) Carrick, who moved to North Yorkshire because of depressed times in Hartlepool, where he he had been a young merchant seaman and engineer. The firm is now in the hands of a third generation taking it in a new direction while maintaining the strong family tradition.

Bert Carrick started the business at Rose Villa, Snape, moved to Yew Tree Cottage in the village in 1940 and then to the present base at Green Pastures 45 years ago. Early customers could buy fish at Yew Tree Cottage but Mr Carrick then began selling door-to-door in the area and moved into local markets when he found they had butchers and bakers, but no fishmongers.

After his retirement the business was continued by sons and joint partners Peter and David. They, too, have now retired but Mr Carrick's third son, John, continues to be active in the business.

The fish, fruit and vegetable elements have been amalgamated into one business, Carricks Fish Ltd, reflecting the thinking of the new generation.

The fish side is the responsibility of John Carrick's daughter, Nicola, and her brother, Martin, while fruit and vegetables are run by by Nicola's father and her mother, Ann, and her other brother, Kevin. Nicola's partner, Chris Revis, is business development manager with the company.

Carricks set great store on the skills of local tradesmen in converting the old building into a new shop, with a second storey added to accommodate offices. Building work was by Neil Donaldson, of Snape, the electrician was Ian Donaldson and plumbing was by David Scarr. The shop sign was made by Alex Bailes, of Bedale.

Shop manager is Emma Johnson, of Burrill, who joined Carricks six weeks ago after working for the Rural Payments Agency at Northallerton.

John Carrick said: "The building was originally the smokehouse, where people used to come to buy fish from my father, so it could have been called a shop then and in a sense things have now come full circle."

The shop will deal in smoked and fresh fish, shellfish, fruit and vegetables as well as mainly local products complementing the range. These include pates, meats, hams, salamis, speciality sausages, local cheeses, olives, oils, dressings, sauces, preserves, pickles, chutneys, clotted cream, dairy ice cream, Yorkshire wines, iced teas and fruit juices.

The company also hopes to build up a wholesale customer base to farm shops, hotels, pubs, schools and delicatessens.

Mr Revis said: "We are aiming at items that cannot be found in supermarkets where possible, with local food suppliers combined with our own products.

"We have got the shop up and running only over the last two months. We thought we might have had it ready for Christmas but it became apparent that that was not very realistic. We had to get it absolutely right before we opened it and at least that is happening on a bank holiday weekend.

"If the shop takes off, Emma Johnson is going to need some help and so it may mean another full-time or part-time job for someone."

The shop is part of a wider £500,000 redevelopment of the Snape site which has seen warehousing redeveloped and updated, with new equipment including a smoked salmon slicer, which has allowed production of that commodity to be increased. A £10,000 grant was obtained from the economic development fund of North Yorkshire County Council.

Other attractions at the official opening of the shop on Sunday will include a demonstration by Jonathan Manby, cooper at Theakston's brewery in Masham, who supplies wood chips to Carricks for fish smoking, and a hog roast with proceeds for the village school at Snape.

Guest speaker is Peter Carrick, whose subject is the history of the family business and the fish industry. The day runs from 10am to 2pm.