Standing at the T of the junction with Mission Grove, in between Simple Design and the recently refurbished Saeed's Fabric's, which replaced P.C.E. Fabric Store), is a shop on the High Street which is worth a visit. At first glance, Faris's is a bit like Ambrosia, just another small ethnic supermarket selling vegetables outside (he sometimes takes a market pitch in front of his store, a good idea as it prevents his shop becoming invisible when the market is full on) and with a range of ethnic foods within.
The owner, who is a patient and friendly man who has in the past put up with a number of ignorant questions from me when I have been in, tells me he is Syrian. I think he must have taken a very careful look at the local demographic trends. He avoided the trap of trying to specialize only in middle eastern food and end up competing with the Turkish Shop, even this far up the High Street, and so is aiming his sales pitch also at the Lithuanian, Polish, Russian and Eastern European population, and gastronomical adventurers like myself. So he finds himself in competition instead with the Polski Sklep, Lolek, Baltika, St James Supermarket and Maxi Mart, as well as the market, Sainsbury's, Lidl, ASDA and the Turkish Shop. But, he has a good position and he is doing quite a good job of it.
He sells Bangla telephone cards and has an off license. He sells a wide variety of bottled polish pickles and vegetables - I am no expert but it seems that his stock compares favourably with that at Baltika down the road. He stocks canned and bottled goods from Pudliszki, Frutico, Smak, Lemah, Tarmik, Dilek and imports by Monolith. One day, I keep telling myself I will try the Lithuanian pickled cucumber soup. He has a huge range of Bodrum brand pulses abd stocks Ferns, Ahmed and Patak's curry mixes and pickles.
He has many types of olives are in stock, which is more than at Sainsbury's. Faris's has a fridge with a large selection of delicatessen, sausages (including Albanian sausages) and meats and a butchery which, as well as the usual chicken etc., sells fresh quails and often has a remarkable line in offal, including hearts and lamb's testicles. They are quite happy to sell a single breast of chicken or a whole bird.
Faris's has a few window adverts of various kinds, ranging from rooms to let in house shares, and adverts in various Eastern European languages for mechanical services, ballet lessons, and for learning English, French, Spanish and German.
[Updated 30 May 2009]