NEWS: Joshua’s Convenience Store offers free deliveries to ‘elderly and vulnerable’ local residents

Words by Jobe Baker-Sullivan / Pics by Ed King

Joshua’s Convenience Store, on Boldmere Road, are offering free deliveries for ‘the elderly and the vulnerable’ – helping people access food and provisions during the coronavirus crisis.

A sign in the front window states: ‘At Joshua’s, we are willing to deliver to the elderly and the vulnerable. Please contact us on any of the numbers below. We have enough supplies to cater for those most in need. We won’t charge for delivery. Please don’t hesitate to contact us.’

People can contact Joshua’s through both the shop’s landline number and a mobile: (0121) 373 0113 or 07513 712 083

Simple acts of kindness can go a long way, and across Erdington and Sutton Coldfield local businesses have been adapting to best serve their community and customers in the face of COVID-19.

We help deliver to about 10 vulnerable and elderly people per day,” explains Tariq Mahmood, whose family have owned and run Joshua’s Convenience Store since 2007, “it’s heart-warming. It’s good to do a service for the community.”

Tariq explains that whilst most of his customers are local to the Erdington/Sutton Coldfield area, the sign has been posted by some of the shop’s regulars across their own social media – leading to calls for deliveries to people self-isolating outside of the immediate area.

But Joshua’s is still widely used by the people of Boldmere – alongside the stacked shelves of food, drinks, and household essentials, the shop can also take bill payments, has a cash machine, and runs paper deliveries to local residents.

And whilst smaller convenience stores have historically struggled to compete with large supermarkets, especially in terms of price and popularity, being a family owned business allows Joshua’s to be more flexible to their customer’s needs.

All we want now is a post office,” tells Tariq heartily, “I now have to work an extra three hours a day; I visit multiple warehouses to find the goods my customers need. Flour, pasta, and toilet roll are all in short supply still, but you just have to get on with it and do your best.”

Joshua’s Convenience Store is located at 392 Boldmere Rd, B73 5EZ. To contact Joshua’s, you can call (0121) 373 0113 or 07513 712 083

NEWS: Jump the queues (and language barriers) for Erdington essentials at Janosik

Words by Jobe Baker-Sullivan / Pics by Jobe Baker-Sullivan and Ed King

Queues on Erdington High Street are now an all too familiar sight, as shops encourage social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Many Eastern European shops, however, remain accessible without too much queueing – stocking an abundance of the basic necessities that supermarkets now sometimes lack.

Janosik, situated at 203 High Street in Erdington, is a grocery store that caters for the Polish community. There is a queue outside, but not for this ‘polski sklep’ (polish shop): it’s for Lloyds bank next door.

Full of food, drink, and household essentials, Erdington Local explores the shelves at Janosik – one of Erdington’s many polish shops where a language barrier might be the only thing slowing down your shopping.

Bread (chleb) is found at the back of the store – fresh, sliced, and easy to spot. Polish people also like to make their own bread and pastries, and there’s a large selection of wheat flour (mąka, the ą gives it a sound more like ‘monka’) on the shelves at Janosik – a staple that’s been disappearing from supermarkets across the region, as many people have begun baking at home during lockdown.

Pasta is also in abundance – specialties, as well as simple ‘farfalle’ priced 400g for 99p.

For milk (mleko), the most common choice popular brand UHT Łaciate [pronounced ‘wa-chya-the’). But don’t get caught out by ‘kefir’ – it might look like normal milk from the packaging, but it’s more like a thin yoghurt that’s used in baking.

It’s good for a hangover!” chimes in Krystian, a helpful regular customer. Krystian visits the shop every couple of days for his basic amenities.

The beer is cheaper here than the Co-op,” he boasts, “and there’s a lovely selection of treats” pointing to the shelves of biscuits and chocolate.

Drworek is a brand of soup (zupa). “It’s like the Polish ready-meal,” says Krystian. Pomidorowa (tomato) and kapuśniak (cabbage) are easy to heat in the pan and serve 3-4 portions.

Most of the products in Janosik are Polish, with a small selection of Romanian items available at the back of the store – such as Zacuscă, a vegetable spread that goes nicely on that fresh chleb (bread).

But there are many basic household products that you can buy in Janosik, everyday essentials, that are all too familiar on shopping lists across Erdington. The shop also boasts a pharmacy, a fresh meat counter, and a variety of other foodstuffs.

Shopping at Janosik, and other Eastern European shops, in Erdington might be the perfect way to avoid those High Street queues – whilst supporting more of our local businesses during lockdown.

To find out more about Janosik, situated at 203 Erdington High Street, visit their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/JANOSIKSUPERSTORE/

For more about the Polish community across Birmingham, visit the Polish Expats Association at www.facebook.com/polish.expats