Neeli Malik
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100 Days of Groceries - Original 2020 Photoblog

100 Days of Groceries is a photography project, exploring the aesthetics of buying groceries, documenting mostly independently owned stores in which people can buy food; greengrocers, corner shops, newsagents, markets, butchers, bakeries, fishmongers, etc. Each post will document a different establishment. Some of the photographs are taken in passing, but some of them I visited specifically. Some documentations will be accompanied by text, either conversational interviews with the workers in the shops, or simply my own observations of the shop at the time. Read more about the project here.

The Kensal Store (May 2020)

The Kensal Store, College Road, Kensal Green, London, May 2020

I spoke to Rahil, who owns and runs The Kensal Store with his brothers. His father and other brother Ali run Euro Supermarket, which is two doors down from their shop.

Their dad’s store, Euro Supermarket, has been around for about twenty years. When the William Hill betting store was closing, there were rumours that a Tesco or a Co-Op would set up shop here. Rahil and his brothers had already been planning to open up an organic food store – albeit, somewhere else, but when the space opened up, they decided to settle just two doors down from where they’ve been for twenty years.

Rahil was restocking the rows of plants and bags of soil that had been arranged decoratively in the space outside.

I asked Rahil, what were the biggest changes he’s seen in the neighbourhood in the last few years?
“Over the last twenty years, the neighbourhood has come up a lot – I wouldn’t say it was ‘run down’ twenty years ago, but it wasn’t as it was now. The customers have changed, it’s become a really nice area. It’s become more community oriented as well. That might be because of Facebook, or Instagram, but there’s definitely more of a community feel.”

He went on to talk about what he enjoyed most working here. “Again, it’s the customers, the community, we as supermarket workers, we’re not appreciated on a day-to-day basis, but here, we feel loved, we feel appreciated. They’ve fallen off the window now, but the customers made us these posters, made by kids, you know we really love them. They’re still up on the other shop. It makes us feel appreciated.”


“The hardest thing about working here, since Covid-19, it’s been the social distancing, and trying to police people. It feels like you’re taking more of a parent’s role, telling people to keep their distance, counting people in, counting people out, I mean, that was the hardest thing, that we’re still doing right now.”


I commented that is must have been difficult for them, as the lockdown was initiated just as the store had first opened. 
“Yeah, initially we opened February and by March lockdown happened. It’s been good and bad for business; a lot more people have started shopping locally and staying away from the bigger retailers. That was one of our main reasons for staying open; to help us build our customer base. We just hope that people continue to use our store even after this is over, not only whilst lockdown is happening. This is an entirely family-based business. This store is run jointly by me and my brothers. My sisters, my brothers, there’s about five of us, running it and sharing the profits. Just our two stores support about 23 people, my wife, my kids, my brothers and sisters families, that’s who these two stores provide income for.”
 

Neeli Malik