A community in Hull is celebrating the arrival of a new convenience store after a wait of almost five years.
Last year the derelict parade of shops on Roebank Arcade in Hull was also gutted by a fire so the brand new Nisa which opened earlier this month has been especially welcomed by the locals.
At about 2,000 sq.ft. the purpose-built store has been fitted out to Nisa’s latest Evolution standard with a bright yellow and grey fascia whilst inside, the shop has a modern look and feel thanks to the Evolution imagery and vinyls.
A 20-metre expanse of energy saving doored chillers covers much of the inner wall space and houses an impressive range of both chilled and frozen products as well as alcohols and freshly made sandwiches.
Owner Permjit Singh Mehat, who has 16 years’ experience in convenience retail and runs two other stores in Hull alongside husband Sarinder, said the initial response to the store from the local community has been really pleasing.
Mehat said, “This project has taken quite some time to get to this stage and so I am really happy to get the doors open and start serving the local people. Sales are going really well and our customers like what we are doing.
“It’s really important we connect with our customers – whether they are three years old or they are 80. The service we small retailers can provide to shoppers is one that the big supermarkets can’t.”
And Mehat believes one of the key factors that makes her customers return is the way they respond to demands. She added, “I keep a notebook behind the counter and if people ask us to stock something we write it down in the book, with their name and telephone number and when we get it in we call them to let them know. Usually we can get it within 24 hours and our customers really like that personal service,” she said.
And it is still early days for Mehat, who has plans to develop the store further with the addition of more freshly baked goods and lunchtime filled baguettes and wraps.
She concluded, “The people here appreciate us and they now know that it’s not just a little corner shop, our store is for their everyday shopping and with great availability and such a good range we are providing a service to the community.”