It's got to be a grocery, a minimarket, a convenience store, a 'corner shop'... somewhere that sells food and a bit of everything... a chain like Spar or Nisa or a totally independent family business.
But what about a typical parade of two shops?
PARADE 2
groceries
takeaway
I'm going to suggest you'd get a grocery store and a takeaway. Could be Chinese, could be kebabs, could be a chippie, could be any kind of takeaway, but generally speaking somewhere selling hot food alongside somewhere selling packaged food.
But those don't feel like proper parades of shops, they're too short, so what if we increase the number to four?
PARADE 4
groceries
takeaway
salon
cafe
Still a grocery store, still a takeaway, but also somewhere that cuts hair and some kind of cafe. The salon might do women's or men's hair and the cafe could be a posh place, a coffee shop or a greasy spoon. but it's the overall category that counts. I'm pretty happy with my choice of a salon for number three but number four's a little more subjective, because what exactly is a typical parade of shops anyway?
If you live in Kensington a 'typical' parade might include an upmarket bar and a housewares showroom, whereas round my way it'd likely include a grill and somewhere selling halal meat. So for today's post I prefer to imagine a typical parade somewhere more ordinary, say on an outer London estate or in a residential corner of Nuneaton. I've even done a survey at a few parades I've visited recently, so what comes next is based on research as well as a general hunch.
What might be in a typical parade of ten shops?
PARADE 10
groceries
takeaway
salon
cafe
pharmacy
estate agent
(empty)
barber
takeaway
groceries
This was tougher to compile. I had to include a pharmacy, they're commonplace, and it made sense to split the two places for cutting hair. What very much came across from direct research was the importance of food sales on a typical parade, so I've included a second grocery store (which might be ethnic or might be more of an off-licence) and also a second takeaway. And this left only two other gaps, one of which I've filled with an estate agent and one of which (hopefully realistically) I've left empty.
Some of the shops I nearly put in: accountants, bakery, betting shop, dry cleaners, launderette. Some of the shops I didn't put in: bar, funeral director, hardware, minicabs, post office, tattoos.
So that's my take on a 'typical' parade of ten shops. It may not be yours, but I'm amenable to the odd tweak.
