They are always there when disaster strikes, like when there’s no milk for your morning tea.
The people who run them, often working long hours to keep you stocked with all the daily essentials, are the unsung heroes of every community.
They are the friendly, familiar faces, always looking out for their customers, and often the most reliable source of local gossip.
This retro photo gallery, chronicling corner shops across Sheffield from the 60s to the 90s, is a tribute to those characters and the popular stores they ran.
Many of the corner shops pictured have sadly succumbed over the years to competition from supermarkets and, more recently, online shopping.
But others have stayed the distance, showing their worth more than ever during times of great adversity, like when the Covid pandemic struck.
Do these photos bring back any memories of your old local corner shop, and what’s the one shop in your community you’d be lost without?
All the photos featured are shared courtesy of Picture Sheffield.

25. Bramall Lane
JKS Pest Control (former corner shop), at the junction of Bramall Lane and Harrington Road, Sheffield, in August 1974 | Picture Sheffield Photo: Picture Sheffield

26. Burngreave
Mrs. Minnie Simpson's corner shop on Burngreave Street in 1970 | Picture Sheffield Photo: Picture Sheffield

27. Burngreave
Mrs. Mary Shaw's corner shop, at the junction of Carwood and Sedan Street, Burngreave, in 1970 | Picture Sheffield Photo: Picture Sheffield

28. Grimesthorpe Road
The Corner Shop and Off Licence (Albert Clinton Collins, licensee, at the junction of Grimesthorpe Road and Lyons Road, Burngreave, in 1970 | Picture Sheffield Photo: Picture Sheffield

