Kirpal Matta, the founder of the legendary Bold Street shop, sadly died last weekA special ceremony will be held in memory of Kirpal Matta who sadly died last week. He is pictured here with his late wife Kanta Matta.A special ceremony will be held in memory of Kirpal Matta who sadly died last week. He is pictured here with his late wife Kanta Matta.(Image: Matta family)

International food store Matta’s will be closed for one day next week as a special ceremony will be held in memory of the store’s owner. Last weekend, an announcement on social media shared the very sad news that Kirpal Matta, who founded legendary shop Matta’s with his wife Kanta 60 years ago, had died.

A statement posted on Facebook announced news of the service, which will be held at Springwood Crematorium on Thursday, June 19, with “followers, family and friends welcome.”

The statement said: “Information on services for Mr Matta in the next week for any friends and followers who wish to attend.

“On Thursday 19 June we’ll be closing the shop to celebrate the life of Mr Matta.

“There will be a service at Springwood Crematorium, Allerton, beginning at 10am.

“The service will be followed by a ceremony at the Gudwara (Sikh Temple) on Smithdown Road, starting at approximately 11:15am. Again, followers, family and friends are welcome.

Kirpal Matta has sadly died. Pictured here with his late wife Kanta.Kirpal Matta has sadly died. Pictured here with his late wife Kanta.(Image: Matta family)

“We would like to just take a moment to say a huge thank you for the well wishes and messages we’ve received in the past week.

We never take our community for granted, but especially at times like these it means the world to us.”

Matta’s international food store was first set up by Kirpal and Kanta all the way back in 1965 in Toxteth’s Granby Street.

The couple became famed around the city for their delicious samosas, which are still adored by customers today.

Following the Toxteth riots, the family moved the shop to its current home on Bold Street.

Last year Matta’s celebrated 40 years of delighting its customers with tastes from around the world in this bustling city centre location. Kanta sadly died in 2020, aged 76, following a battle with dementia.

Announcing the passing of Kirpal last weekend, the store – now run by the couple’s sons Dalip and Deepak – added: “From Granby Street to Bold Street, Mr. and Mrs. Matta came to be known as the original faces of our little shop community.

“As much loved by his family as he was by our many wonderful customers over the years, we know many of you will want to share those memories, which is why we were keen to share this post, however sad it may be.”