'How the corner shop has come into its own'

“At the heart of the community.”

People are realising that the ‘corner shop’ is in fact cheaper than the big supermarkets – and that they are called ‘convenience stores’ for a reason:

Our changing shopping habits – Vision Group for Sidmouth

Sheila Dillon of the Food Programme looks at how the corner shop has come into its own:

Why The Corner Shop Has Come Into Its Own

Remember March? Before the UK lockdown. Remember desolate supermarket shelves? Toilet rolls, eggs, flour nowhere to be found?

Where did you turn? Chances are you may have hit the jackpot in your local corner shop.

Sales in corner shops and independent grocers were up by 63 per cent in the three months to May according to industry analysts Kantar. For many small grocery shops, business has never been better. But as Sheila Dillon finds out, that’s gone hand in hand with exceptionally long hours, miles and miles driven to cash & carries, finding new local suppliers, entrepreneurial social distancing solutions, and alot of community support.

In this programme Sheila checks in with the people running corner shops across the country, and with their customers. She hears from Caroline Craig and Sophie Missing, whose local shops inspired them to write ‘The Cornershop Cookbook’. And Babita Sharma, author of ‘The Corner Shop: The True Story of the Little Shops – and Shopkeepers – Keeping Britain Going’ talks about her experience of growing up ‘behind the counter’.

BBC Radio 4 – The Food Programme, Why The Corner Shop Has Come Into Its Own

And the Sid Valley has some great ‘corner shops’:

Woolbrook News – Your local convenient store