Sells, but closes after five (5)

I believe the answer is:

vends

'sells' is the definition.
(vending is a kind of selling)

'closes after five' is the wordplay.
'closes' becomes 'ends' (close can mean the end of something).
'after' says to put letters next to each other.
'five' becomes 'V' (Roman numeral).
'ends' put after 'v' is 'VENDS'.

'but' is the link.

(Another definition for vends that I've seen is " Sells".)

I've seen this clue in The Irish News and The Globe and Mail.

Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app