Southport's first shop selling Indian sweets, snacks, spices and groceries now open

A brand new shop has opened in Southport town centre selling the flavours and smells of India!

Husband and wife Lalit and Baljit Bains opened Bains Mini Mart, Southport’s first store selling Indian sweets, snacks, spices and groceries, at 73 London Street, after realising there was a real need in the town.

The beautiful aroma of fresh spices hits you as soon as you walk through the door.

Inside is an Aladdin’s cave of Indian food and ingredients.

There are bags of fresh spices and seeds; a hot drinks machine where you can buy the delicious chai masala; fresh Indian vegetables such as bangan (baby aubergines), okra and mangoes; mango lassi; tamarind; mango pulp; sauces; paneer; chapattis; poppadoms, mustard oil, rose water, rice, rice flakes, coconut chips.

Lentils are available in an array of different colours.

There is an amazing selection of Indian sweets such as jalebi, motichoor ladoo, pistachio barfi, mango barfi, plain barfi, punjabi besan, coconut barfi, chocolate barfi, gulab jaman, ras gulla and chum chum.

Bains Mini Mart is already gaining a glowing reputation for its superb hot samosas and freshly prepared curries that people can take away to cook at home.

There is a great selection of drinks, with cans of sparkling Rubicon available in mango, passionfruit and guava flavours, plus the very popular mango lassi.

There are boxes of delicious pani puri, a favourite among Bollywood stars.

Foodies can look inside a freezer with frozen parathis and other foods.

There is a stand with a selection of Indian gifts that people can buy for their family or friends.

Lalit and Baljit, who both love cooking and have a passion for Indian cuisine, love chatting with customers about all the foods on offer, how to cook them and where they come from.

The couple were living in London and then Telford before relocating to Southport last September.

They saw the vacant shop on London Street in January and have spent the past few months transforming it into something new and truly unique for the town.

Baljit said: “When we came to Southport, we started chatting with people, and quickly realised there was a real need for a shop like this here.

“To find ingredients like the ones we sell in here, people have had to travel to either Preston or Liverpool.

“Now they can find what they need in Southport instead!

“We have been trying out different things and seeing what works, what people want.

“There is a good Kerelan community in Southport, we are stocking more goods for them.

“Our hot samosas and freshly made curries were extremely popular! They have sold out very quickly whenever they have been on sale.

“Lots of people have been coming in and asking for them.

“Customers love our hot drinks machine, which sells hot tea, coffee, and other drinks such as chai masala, which is tea with Indian spices such as cardamom.

“We have a stand with souvenirs and Indian gifts such as incense and spice boxes.

“We use our social media pages such as Bains Mini Mart on Facebook to let people know what we have coming into the shop and when it’s available.

“We took over the shop in January and have been busy getting it ready to open. We have done all the work ourselves with no help. There was no funding available for what we wanted to do, so we have funded it ourselves.

“We are open seven days a week. We open at 10am each day, and tend to close at around 7pm to 8pm. On Fridays and Saturdays we might stay open a little later, until around 9pm. We are working out what the best opening hours will be for us.

“We have had a really positive response from people since we opened, which has been great.

“We love living in Southport. We have made more friends in the short time we have been here than we did in the seven years we lived in Telford.”

The couple have three children; a 25-year-old man who is a maths teacher plus a 15-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy. The family are enjoying the new challenge.

Lalit Bains said: “We have a really big range of spices and seeds which people can use to make curries.

“We source our ingredients from India, Bangladesh, Mumbai, Delhi, Nepal.

“I was born in Punjab and spent my early years growing up in India, before coming to England when I was 10.

“I remember my Mum and Dad cooking away in the kitchen, using all different spices. My wife and I both love to cook!

“It’s important to know where our food comes from, and to respect the food we eat.

“I believe that the more God gives us, the more we should give back.

“We have Southport Soup Kitchen next door to us. Whatever supplies we have left over, we always give to them.”

Word about Bains Mini Mart is already spreading, with customers eager to source goods they can’t find elsewhere, or to try something new.

One review on the Bains Mini Mart Facebook page said: “An amazing selection of fresh tasty food and friendly staff, there were so many lovely things to choose from I didn’t know where to start, I will be making a regular visit. Samosas are to die for!!!!”