These images capture a period when independent grocers were a staple feature of almost every community. Nowadays many of these local shops have been replaced, taken over by, or even usurped by big branded takes on the humble corner shop, newsagents and so on.
Although a handful of local corner shops have managed to endure, many succumbed over the years, unable to rival the aggressive price-cutting of retail giants.
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Yet, independent grocers provided far more than simple convenience. Tailoring their stock to the specific tastes of regular shoppers, looking after loyal patrons, and serving as a hub for local news and friendly chatter, they formed a vital part of the community.
Their essential role to the community was ever more key during the Covid pandemic, when these local shops would remain open to supply key goods throughout a period of crisis.
This nostalgic collection highlights some of Sheffield’s best-loved grocery stores throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
How many of these shops and their owners do you recognise? And which of the old brands lining the shelves or being advertised do you miss most?
9. NSS Newsagents
The fountain at Sheaf Square, Sheffield, with the Howard Hotel, Midland Restaurant, NSS Newsagents and Kaye for Carpets all pictured, in March 1980.
10. Do you remember picking up a paper here?
A. L. Fergus newsagents, on School Road, Crookes, Sheffield, in 1983 | Picture Sheffield/Diane Gascoyne
11. Ellesmere Road
Ellesmere Road, in Burngreave, Sheffield, in August 1985, showing shops including Walter Wild fishmonger, K. A. Clarke newsagent and tobacconist, and Hymans furnishers.
12. McColl's was a British institution founding in 1973
Shops on The Moor, Sheffield city centre, in 1986, showing the entrance to The Moor Restaurant, Etam ladies' fashion store, the newsagents R.S. McColl, and newsagent and the gentlemen's outfitter Wigfalls | Picture Sheffield/SCC