Corner shops.

[Richard1978]

Re: Corner shops.

Near to me there is a shop in the ground floor of a tower block with a white owner.

Sometimes I go there, it's a bit cramped inside with a sandwich counter squeezed in.

I mostly buy TV guides or bottles of wine if I need one in a hurry.

The best thing I bought was a Dr Who DVD I spotted in a bargin bin.

[staffslad]

Re: Corner shops.

The closest corner shop to us was a small, single-storey building attached to a row of 1900s 'two up-two down' terraced houses about 200 yards from our house. The shop would have been built probably in the early 1960s. I can't remember if it had a name, but was owned and run by Mrs. Walker, so was always known as 'Mrs. Walker's'. It was mainly a grocery shop I think. There was a counter at the back of the shop, behind which Mrs Walker would be standing. There were dozens of jars of sweets on the shelves behind the counter. She would sell fireworks for Bonfire Night and simple decorations and nick-nacks for Christmas. Many is the time my mom would ask me to go and get a tin of peas or a bag of sugar and so on from Mrs. Walker's, and I would ride there on my Chopper bike. The row of terraced houses were demolished around 1976 and Mrs. Walker's shop went with it. I have so many memories of asking for a quarter of sweets from her or buying a pack of collectors' cards--with chewing gum--then opening them outside to see if I already had any of the cards.

[darren]

Re: Corner shops.

[IMG]Old shop on Corner of Ramsdern St and Rawlinson St[/IMG]

[staffslad]

Re: Corner shops.

There is another shop not far from our house, probably a five-minute walk. It has been a shop ever since I can remember, and for quite a while before I was born, I believe. It has been run by an Indian couple since the late 70s and is now known as "Sandra's," though that may be a corruption of the lady's actual name. They sell the standard corner shop fare and is ideal for just popping in for something you have forgotten in your main shopping trip. They also had videos in the video boom of the 80s.

[wispa lover]

Re: Corner shops.

We had one not too far from us. It closed about late 90s and turned into flats. Funny thing is that I still miss it and I even dream about it reopening sometimes. I used to buy a Beano and a 10p mixture there.

[big kid]

Re: Corner shops.

there's only one corner shop left near where i live. all the others have gone over the years.

[Twocky61]

Re: Corner shops.

Spar & Premier & Nisa franchises are still going strong amongst a few other. I suspect there are very few independent 'corner' shops nowadays what with the likes of Tesco opening so many Tesco Express small shops. Your little 'corner' shop is at a disadvantage as they can't compete with such unfair competition

[staffslad]

Re: Corner shops.

I agree. Independent corner shops seem to have decreased in number over the past couple of decades in favour of franchises/chains.

[akb48fan]

Re: Corner shops.

There used to be a small corner shop not 3 mins down the road by bike from my old house. It used to be the place where all the local characters used to come in for a chat and gossip with the kindly owners. I loved going there to buy comics/computer games magazines. The corner shop kept going until 2013 when the owners sold it and it's now a beauty shop. It's a shame seeing these corner shops closing down due to competition from supermarkets.

[marc]

Re: Corner shops.

The corner shop on the end of the street where I grew up was called Jeoff's. It's still there, under a different owner. It's not the same. I remember it with boxes of fruit and vegetables outside, made into a lovely display. There was also a fantastic range of sweets and chocolate inside.

Strangely, throughout most of the 1970s, the owner did not have a fridge in the shop. Milk was simply left in the crate throughout the day. If my mother needed an extra pint of milk, usually in the afternoon, she would not buy one from there. It was not unknown to have a sour pint of milk. After many complaints, over a number of years, a fridge was bought. Hard to believe now.

Another corner shop I remember was close to my grandmother's house. Checks, in Trealaw. Often had a tub of Thayer's ice-cream from there when I was quite young. I also remember fresh rabbits hanging up outside. My first taste of Black Pudding was from that shop.

[zabadak]

Re: Corner shops.

Looks like our (I think Turk-owned) shop has gorn... :cry: