How we shopped in 1961 …. from corner shop to supermarket

If you were born in the first half of the last century you will have experienced one of those transformations in how we shopped.

What was the present .... 1962

Long before online shopping, and the big out of town store, there was the appearance of the supermarket which with its self-service and discounted prices squeezed out the traditional small family run grocery shop, and in time also did for the butchers and the greengrocer.

Once upon a time in that age before the freezer or even the fridge, most people shopped on a daily basis at the local parade of shops, or in the market, while for the posh there was still the option to have your order delivered by the “boy on the bike”.

Our local grocer’s was Attins on Queens Road where the selection of food was limited and in the case of cheese stretched to white or red.

But of course for a seven year old there was the attraction of the broken biscuit box in front of the counter, and the fascination of watching the butter and cheese cut to order, as well as the knowledge that because you were known any short fall in the cash you had with you would be subbed by Mr. and Mrs. Attins until your next visit.

What was to be the future ..... 1961

Now we still do have corner shops, they never went away, but even they have gone up market, offer a degree of self -service and as like as not will have food from around the world, sitting beside jars of Branston and Ovaltine.

So, to celebrate both the old and the new, here is the traditional corner shop with its range of things we bought in 1961 and one of Adsega supermarkets which started with one store in Gorton in the early 1960s before expanding to 47 outlets and then being taken over by Tesco in 1965.*

Many will remember them.

Here in Chorlton they had a shop in Manchester Road, and today long after they vanished from our streets they have their own Facebook page.

But what I like about the Adsega store, is that like the traditional shops and the market stalls some of the products were displayed on the street.

Picture; shop fronts, 1961-2, 1962-3782.7, & 1962-3764.1, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass

* THE STORES THAT TESCO ATE: A LOST PRECINCT NOT SO PERFECT TEN https://mancunian1001.wordpress.com/2017/10/11/the-stores-that-tesco-ate-a-lost-precinct-not-so-perfect-ten/