Southend is flocking back to the corner shops

The humble corner shop may be small but has everything you’ll ever need, with all kinds of goods piled high and stuffed onto crammed shelves.

Now, after years of trying to fight the supermarket juggernauts (and sadly, all too often losing) the humble convenience store is seeing a resurgence.

The shops are at their busiest during the Covid-19 pandemic – and owners are proud to be on the frontline and serving as a lifesaver for many elderly and vulnerable.

Greens Health Foods in Rectory Grove, Leigh, has been supporting the community since 1963 and has had to adapt to the extraordinary conditions while keeping up with the demand for healthy foods and supplements.

Richard Green said: “People have been coming in because we’ve remained open, the same as any other corner store.

“People have been stocking up on vitamin C. People are home baking and are buying yeast and flour which has been difficult to keep on the shelves.

“Nobody is allowed in the shop.

"We have a table outside to keep us at a distance from customers.

"They tell us what they want then they pay using card transactions.

"Some people are ordering and paying by phone. We’re making it as easy as we possibly can for people.”

The Station News and Grocery Store in High Street Shoebury, is also a post office so it has become the go to outlet for many local people.

Owner Harish Panchal who runs the store with wife Anjana said: “We have seen an increase in demand. Supermarkets have a lot of issues with queues and product supply.

“We have especially seen more elderly people who use our shop rather than going to the supermarket.

“We have had a bit of an issue with getting some stock like loo rolls and we had no flour for four weeks.

“We had a problem getting milk but I have been with the same supplier for 25 years and he promised me he would carry on supplying me.”

As with most businesses Mr Panchal has had to make changes in order to open his small scale store to the public safely.

He said: “Anji and I want to make sure we keep open as long as possible and people have thanked us for that.

“We are a small shop and we’ve always had a problem with that but we ask people to wait outside of there are too many or we ask what they want and get it for them.”

For Kevin Robinson, councillor responsible for business, culture and tourism and a mental health nurse on the frontline.

He said: “I have been using convenience stores quite a lot as they are easier to get into than the big supermarkets which are often closed when by the time I’ve finished work. I know some have taken on more staff because they are busier.

“They have said they’ve seen a pick up in trade. The big supermarkets have queues because people are keeping their distance but the smaller shops are being sensible. One I use has put up a plastic shield and staff seem to be doing things sensibly.”

Mr Robinson added: “At the council, the business rates team worked right through the Easter weekend to give government grants to businesses.

“We’ve had a few thousand applications for £10million of grants and have tried to deal with them as quickly as possible in the order they have been submitted.”

Suzzanne Gloyne, manager of Southend BID, said both small and medium sized businesses selling essential items were enjoying a boost.

She said: “When I have been out shopping it’s definitely the case I would use a smaller shop. You can get all the essential items at smaller shops and you don’t have to queue.”

'I can get everything that I need from them'

NAPOLEON once said Britain was a nation of shopkeepers... and never have they been needed more.

Corner shops at the heart of the community are really coming into their own again, supplying essential items people need on a daily basis.

Small businesses have battled for years against huge supermarkets, but people are now finding they can get most of what they need to survive by shopping local.

June Lee, 70, from Thorpe Bay said: “I have a little Broadway of shops just two-minute’s walk from me in Thorpe Bay.

"I’ve always tried to support them in the past and feel more inclined to do so now in these unprecedented times.

“I feel it’s right to support the smaller shops if they are prepared to stay open.”

Sydney Stevenson, 25, from Leigh, said: “I was actually saying to my mum the other day that I seem to be going to the smaller local shops and corner shops rather than the big supermarkets.

“I can get everything that I need from them.”

A 70-year-old resident from Shoebury, who asked not to be named, said: “Corner shops are more comfortable and I would rather go to them from an exposure point of view rather than going to a supermarket where you are exposed to more people.

“You have to pay a little more because they don’t have the discounts that big supermarkets have but I have found they are not profiteering and they are being supportive to the community.

“I think this is a golden opportunity for them.”

David Burch, director of policy at Essex Chambers of Commerce, said “It is encouraging that we are seeing an increase in the use of corner shops at this time.

“I suspect that at this time of national concern over the coronavirus outbreak people find them reassuring in a way that large supermarkets aren’t.”

Mr Burch added: “I hope that this use will continue once things get back to some kind of normality and that their value to local communities is recognised by local councils when considering planning policies and parking regimes.”