SARSAPARILLA has made a long-awaited return to Blackburn Market.

Home Brew, run by Alan Taylor, has opened on the market’s Artisan Row, and has been doing a brisk trade, with many people reminiscing about the old market’s famous sarsaparilla stall which closed last year.

Alan, 44, said: “I remember going to the old market for sarsaparilla when I was a child – it was an institution, and it seemed such a shame that the original stall didn’t come into the new market.

“I knew it was sorely missed by the townspeople and decided to bring it back along with some home brewed ginger beer and the feedback from customers has been very positive.”

Alan, who also sells light-up toys on Blackpool promenade, decided to take the plunge into market trading after being made redundant from a factory.

Now his wife Jean Tilley is responsible for the two-week brewing process at their home in Guide. He admitted it’s an acquired taste, adding: “But people who come saying they’ve tried it in the past and don’t like it, are being converted.”

The original sarsaparilla stall, called R Walsh and Co, first opened in King Street before moving to the old market site.

As an eight-year-old, Peter Barnes would move barrels to earn pocket money, and when the owner died, Mr Barnes took over. After his death, aged 66, in December 2010, his wife Teresa took over, but decided not to move to the new market.