Well, you can get a snack

I thought that Manchester had been invaded by them, but it’s positively spartan compared to Bristol.

I’m talking of the rise of the supermarket convenience store, personified in Sainsbury Local’s (and Centrals) and Tesco Express’s (and Metro’s)

In the time it takes to walk from the centre back to Temple Meads I actually managed to loose count of the number of stores there were.

Not though, that I’m complaining.

I remember a time not that long ago when if you wanted to grab something after about 6pm there was nothing, other than a couple of massively overpriced corner shops, and even most of them closed by 8pm

Whilst it would be nice if there were more independent stores or small chains, Tesco and Sainsbury’s have obviously spotted the massive gap in the market and are in the process of filling it (possibly using the Noah method of just flooding the place.)

There is a very funny episode of the Simpsons where Bart gets his ear pierced. In the time it takes him to get it done all the stores in the mall have been converted to Starbucks.

At the time (early 2000’s) it did appear that Starbucks were going to take over the world, but then the fight back started from the UK chains and now in some places you can’t throw a stone without hitting a Nero’s or Costa’s.

Perhaps now is the time for smaller chains to get in on the act and mount a similar fight back, after all, being able to buy shampoo at 10pm at night in the city centre when you’ve realised you’ve just run out is a bit bourgeois, but it is awfully convenient.