Bromley-by-Bow is, or at least was, one of the poorer parts of the East End. 20 years ago you'd walk out of the tube station onto the dualcarriageway and think "this is a bit bleak", and the adjacent streets wouldn't have changed your mind. But today a fringe of highrise flats is gradually infilling the space between the A12 and the river Lea - the usual bricky stacks - and people are living here who'd never have dreamed of moving in before.
The development surrounding the new supermarket is called Leaside Lock, despite not facing Bow Locks and despite only one building being beside the Lea. Buildings thus far constructed instead face either the A12 or the District line, neither of which were deemed appropriate for naming purposes. This however hasn't stopped people moving in, nor stopped the sales team writing some absolutely premier bolx.
THE NEW heart OF BROMLEY-BY-BOW, BEATING WITH EAST LONDON PERSONALITY
Leaside Lock fuses East London expression with the refinement of the West End, where an afternoon spent discovering the latest art exhibition in Bow is followed by drinks on the residents’ roof terrace. The best of the capital is encapsulated in one destination, with a doorstep full of options.
So far the only on-site facility is the 'state-of-the-art' gym, an essential component of many a millennial morning, which opened back in October. The supermarket will be next in a prime location immediately adjacent to the subway, tucked into the empty unit under the tallest tower. It's appeared to be on the verge of opening for several weeks because the shelves were already stacked with non-perishables, indeed December looked to be a strong possibility, but instead much interior faffing continued and now it's February.
The most recent update is a sheet of A4 sellotaped to the door which says "We apologise for the opening delayed due to some work in progress. we will be open Soon." But this weekend they've finally filled the vegetable racks with carrots and onions and yesterday I saw someone at the back adding packets to the chiller cabinets so I guess opening day can't be very far away. Might even be today.
What's unusual is that there's already a big supermarket two minutes walk away, the massive Bromley-by-Bow Tesco Extra with its three dozen aisles of options. There's also a Sainsbury's Local on the other side of the A12 catering for the convenience needs of everyone who turns right out of the station rather than left. This new SimplyFresh supermarket will only be the closest food store to the 965 properties at Leaside Lock, only half of which have so far been completed. Technically it isn't needed, but equally residents in loungewear will appreciate not having to dash the extra two minutes for their Doritos, muesli and Andrex.
What's really unusual, for E3 at least, is that this is no bogstandard supermarket. SimplyFresh claims to be "an upmarket grocery store concept focusing on local and best-of-British products anchored by an organic healthy range of food", "born out of a shared desire to want something better". They have SimplyFreshes in Stratford-upon-Avon, Cheltenham, West Wimbledon and Dulwich, not to mention a store in a village outside Cheddar. Admittedly they also have branches on university campuses, at St James's Park tube station and in Bethnal Green so they're not overly snobby, but who'd have guessed there was a business case for an organic-first outlet on the Blackwall Tunnel Approach Road?
That said I looked in through the window and a lot of the brands are perfectly ordinary, like Branston pickle, John West sardines and Pot Noodle. Also a lot of the generic footstuffs are Co-op own brand, for example the tinned tomatoes, cooking oil and brown sauce, much like you used to be able to get at the Texaco garage on Bow Road. And because the shelves facing the window are now fully priced I can do some comparisons to see whether the new store's any cheaper than the big Tesco 200m up the road.
Simply Fresh
Tesco
Heinz beans (415g, pack of 4)
£4.49
£3.75
can of Spam (340g)
£4.29
£3.50
Batchelors Mushy Peas (300g)
£1.39
60p
Napolina chopped tomatoes (400g)
£1.20
£1.00
Loyd Grossman sauce (350g)
£3.39
£3.00
Fray Bentos Steak Pie
£3.50
£2.80
Pot Noodle (King Pot)
£1.75
£1.35
Heinz Tomato Ketchup (low salt)
£3.95
£3.00
Colman's mustard (100g)
£2.49
£2.00
jar of Bovril (250g)
£5.09
£4.55
own brand squeezy mayo (500ml)
£1.55
£1.07
value tin of sliced carrots (300ml)
99p
50p
TOTAL
£34.08
£27.12
The worst mark-up is on the tin of Batchelors mushy peas which costs more than twice as much at SimplyFresh, and the next worst are the two own brand items. Admittedly I've over-focused on tinned goods and sauces because that's what's visible in the window, and admittedly I've ignored special offers (so for example SimplyFresh are currently offering a small tub of Bisto gravy granules for £2 rather than Tesco's £2.80). But my basket of a dozen groceries costs 26% more at SimplyFresh compared to Tesco and I have no reason to think that's not a ballpark figure.
Hurrah for customer choice and the opportunity to walk to a self checkout a bit closer to your front door, because the whole point of a convenience store is that it's more convenient than a big shop. But it does seem ridiculous to be opening a premier outlet so close to an existing megastore which has a far greater choice of goods at considerably lower prices. It can only be a sign that the population of Bromley-by-Bow is gentrifying and that the incomers east of the A12 have a higher disposable income, else the likes of SimplyFresh simply wouldn't have bothered to invest.
It is, I confess, a highly hyperlocal issue. But if you're also a frequenter of small local stores or premier outlets I wonder if you've ever done the maths to compare how much you might be overspending.
