On Torridon Road in Lewisham, London, there’s a moment of hesitation that still catches first-time visitors off guard.
They push open the door of Torridon Convenience Store, scan the aisles, and then notice it: a giant steel vault door, studded with bolts and finished in industrial grey. Inside lies a walk-in chilled room unlike anything else in UK convenience retail. Wines line one wall by region. Craft beers explode in colour across another. Multipacks sit cold and ready for barbecues, match nights and impromptu celebrations. Above, black ceilings deepen the sense of theatre. Underfoot, porcelain tiles echo the diamond pattern of a bank vault floor.
Some customers pause. “Am I allowed in there?” they ask.
Kaual Patel smiles every time he hears it. “That’s exactly what I wanted,” he says. “Otherwise it’s just another hole in the wall. Another beer cave. You’ve got to make it stand out.”
Today, The Vault is the beating heart of Torridon Convenience Store – Nisa Local. It’s also one of the reasons Kaual’s store was crowned Off-Licence of the Year at the 2025 Asian Trader Awards, recognition he describes as both touching and motivating.
“It recognises the hard work and perseverance we’ve put in as a business, in such a competitive market,” he says. “To be acknowledged like that is huge. You don’t get that every day. It lifts you. It drives you forward. Ultimately, it’s a morale boost – being recognised by the industry.”
But this story doesn’t begin with awards or architectural statements. It starts, as so many independent retail journeys do, with sacrifice.
Growing up between shelves
Torridon Convenience Store has been in Kaual’s family since 1984. His father and uncle built the business from scratch, gradually acquiring neighbouring units until four shops became one. It was hard graft, long hours and relentless commitment – the kind of retailing that doesn’t leave much room for childhood memories.
“Growing up in retail, I saw the hard work and the sweat,” Kaual says. “You never had both parents. I rarely saw my dad. By the time he came home, I was already in bed. By the time I got up for school, he’d already left.”
When Kaual misbehaved, punishment came in a familiar form: time on the shop floor.
“We were sent to the shop to work,” he laughs. “So I suppose it discouraged me from it.”
Torridon Convenience Store – Nisa LocalPhoto: Handout
For a while, he did exactly what many second-generation retailers do. He stepped away. Kaual worked outside the family business, learning retail in a different environment, absorbing lessons in theatre, flair and customer service.
His father and uncle, by contrast, were masters of margin control and cost-cutting. When Kaual eventually returned, it created a collision of philosophies.
“It was like East meets West,” he says. “They were efficient, margin-driven. Where I worked before was about in-store theatre and customer experience. The trick was finding the balance between the two.”
At first, it wasn’t easy.
“I was always bickering with my dad, trying to show him, ‘Look, this is the way forward.’ But you can’t fault someone who’s built such a strong business from nothing.”
What followed was years of perseverance, debate and gradual trust-building – until Kaual finally got the green light to take the store in a radically new direction.
Sending the family away
The turning point came in 2022, when Kaual convinced the family to back a £480,000-plus refurbishment. In fact, he'd been pestering them for two years. “I think,” Kaual recalls with a laugh, “in the end, they thought the only way we're going to ever shut him up is if we let him do it.”
The plan wasn’t cosmetic. It was total transformation.
“We ripped the entire building back to bare bricks,” he says. “All the wiring, all the infrastructure – everything.”
To make it happen, Kaual did something extraordinary: he booked flights for his family and sent them abroad. “I bought everybody a ticket and sent them out of the country,” he says. “I needed to concentrate on this bold new concept.”
For ten weeks, the store became a construction site. Old wiring was stripped out. New cable trays were installed throughout so future upgrades wouldn’t mean ripping walls apart again. Health and safety, building regulations, layout and flow were all redesigned from scratch.
Torridon Convenience Store Photo: Handout
“You cannot deliver the same level of finish by doing it in dribs and drabs,” Kaual explains. “That’s what we’d done in the past. You add wiring onto wiring. You patch things up. You never get the finish you want. I'm a big, firm believer that you should never do a part refit, either go all in or don't do it.”
It was a gamble that split opinion around the family table.
“For the amount of money we were spending, someone said, ‘You could buy another property and guarantee X amount of return,’” Kaual recalls.
Instead, he turned to an independent feasibility assessment – a detailed analysis of competition, local households and average earnings, producing a realistic turnover projection.
“It gave us confidence,” he says. “If it comes back positive, you know you’re onto something.”
The result?
“Overnight, we were up more than 35 per cent in turnover. Close to 40. It was a huge jump.”
His father’s response said everything. “He turned around and said, ‘You’ve proved your worth. Do things.’”
Today, their relationship is stronger than ever.
“We’ve got such mutual respect now,” Kaual says. “He’s embraced change. He understands that before, people came to you because you were the only off-licence. Now you’ve got supermarkets on every corner and online competitors. You have to think further out of the box.”
They still argue. But there’s one golden rule.
“Whatever happens on the shop floor stays on the shop floor. The moment we walk out that door, it’s over. We’re still father and son.”
Engineering a cold revolution
If the refurbishment was the foundation, The Vault became the statement.
Kaual’s background in engineering shaped its creation. Rather than traditional refrigeration, he designed the space around cold air circulation, reducing condensation, mould and label warping while maximising capacity.
“No one had really done it like this,” he says. “But structurally, it made sense. And I knew we could fit so much more product in there than with standard fridges.”
Trips to the US reinforced the idea. So did a simple consumer insight.
“I’m a cold drinker. I can’t drink a warm beer. And you can’t walk into a supermarket and pick up an 18-pack cold. They won’t do it – it’s low margin. But for customers, it’s brilliant.”
Kaual Patel in front of The Vault in his store Photo: Handout
The Vault lets shoppers grab entire cases chilled and ready. “No more buying six bags of ice and chucking it in a bucket.”
Design-wise, Kaual explored multiple concepts, even sketching ideas with his child’s colouring pencils. One early plan imagined a Garden of Eden, complete with greenery and water features. But simplicity won out.
“The Vault gave me maximum space. Clean. Neat. Impactful.”
It also changed how people shop. “We can hold a bigger range than anybody, cold. It’s easy to navigate. Wide enough for pushchairs. Everything laid out categorically,” he explains.
On hot days, sales rocket. During sporting events, baskets swell. Customers travel miles for specific bottles from “The Collection” – a locked cabinet of premium spirits featuring hundreds of whiskies and gins from around the world.
And that initial hesitation at the vault door?
It’s now part of the experience.
Educate, innovate, rotate
Kaual’s approach to drinks retail is rooted in learning.
He has completed his Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) Level 1 in wine and is working towards Level 2. Charts explaining hop varieties hang in-store. Wine guides and pairing books sit alongside shelves.
“Educate yourself,” he says. “Read all the trade publications. Instead of scrolling on social media, spend 20 minutes and you'd be amazed what you learned. Every time I go out, I stop off at a store, take a snapshot of something or a barcode, then come back and research it.”
That curiosity feeds directly into ranging.
He stocks nearly 60 SKUs of non-alcoholic beer. “People think I’m crazy,” Kaual laughs. “But I wouldn’t keep adding lines if they didn’t sell.”
The color-coded system at Torridon Convenience Store - green for vegan, black for organic, and red for gluten-free - saves time for staff and customersPhoto: Handout
To make navigation easier, he introduced a simple colour-dot system: green for vegan, black for organic, and red for gluten-free.
“It saves time for staff and customers. And once customers starting to understand it, it's so easy for them to navigate.”
Range management is equally disciplined. Dark beers peak in winter. Session styles dominate summer. Craft lines rotate constantly. Slow movers are marked down before best-before dates loom.
“You’re not throwing money away,” Kaual says. “These products (craft beer) have shorter lives. You have to work with that.”
Mix-and-match multibuys encourage trial and lift basket spend. Guest beers appear briefly, then make way for the next discovery. Even international football tournaments become merchandising opportunities.
“With the World Cup coming up, right now I'm busy hunting different beers from all around the world to coincide with that. You've got Mexico versus France? Bring in a Mexican beer and a French beer. Put them side by side. Create that moment.”
Then there’s Kaual’s obsession with presentation.
“Forward face,” he grins. “My staff hear it in their sleep. Pull it all forward. Make it neat.”
Ironically, his father once resisted the practice, believing empty spaces signalled strong sales.
“Now he does it himself,” Kaual laughs. “That’s the evolution.”
From retailer to creator
Kaual didn’t stop at retailing other people’s products. He began making his own.
First came Torridon Lager, brewed with the local partner, Brockley Brewery. It launched just after the refurbished store opened – in January.
“Dry January,” Kaual laughs. “Perfect timing.”
Despite that, it sold strongly. Locals loved the idea of two neighbourhood businesses collaborating. A second batch followed. Then came Mango Rum Punch and Mango Colada cocktails – “being Indian, we love a mango” – developed with a mixologist.
Torridon Lager cansPhoto: Handout
Next, inspiration struck literally underfoot.
Outside the store sits a community mosaic, designed by local children and now protected by the council. When Kaual cut into newly laid paving to install it, friends joked he’d lost the plot.
But the artwork sparked an idea.
“Mosaic is also a hop,” he explains. “So I thought, let’s make a Mosaic Pale Ale.”
He worked closely with brewers on flavour profiles and recipes, then wrapped the can in artwork inspired by the mosaic itself.
Kaual Patel with Torridon Gin, created using bay leaf and olive as lead botanicalsPhoto: Handout
With gin, the journey began with trees. Unable to plant directly into the ground due to underground cables, Kaual installed bay and olive trees in large planters outside the shop.
“They clean the air. They brighten the street. People fell in love with them.”
That led to Torridon Gin, using bay leaf and olive as lead botanicals, packaged in recyclable tins and displayed with slate, lemon slices and foliage.
“What I always look for is synergy,” Kaual says. “How do I connect the product to my business, my building and my community?”
It’s a philosophy that runs through everything he does.
Heart of the neighbourhood
Torridon Convenience Store isn’t just a shop. It’s a community hub.
Local children designed the mosaic. Plants are UK-grown. The same egg supplier has been used for 35 years. A local customer’s homemade vegan patties were nurtured from shelf experiment to national listing with Ocado. Another neighbourhood entrepreneur is now preparing to launch rum cakes in-store.
“Sometimes you give them a bit of space on your shelf, and you'd be surprised at how local people can influence others,” Kaual says. “They need a chance. Somebody just needs that door semi-open for them.”
Photo: Handout
He gives time freely to small producers.
“My time is free. Whether you sell 10 packs or 100,000, it has zero bearing on my life. But one day, you might need help.”
The store works closely with nearby institutions too – the library, the church, local charities.
“Sometimes we’re the only interaction some people have in a day,” Kaual says. “Your business is only as strong as your stance in the community. Without the community, we don’t have a business.”
It’s why he encourages other retailers to invest locally.
“If you give a bit, it comes back. If your business does more for the community than another business, locals will choose you.”
Looking forward, staying grounded
Despite the accolades, Kaual isn’t slowing down.
A third beer is already in development. More collaborations are planned. Small suppliers continue to knock on his door.
“There’s always something next,” he says.
But perhaps his most powerful advice is reserved for younger retailers and second-generation operators.
“Your parents and uncles are titans of their time,” he says. “They achieved things we couldn’t in this climate. Respect that. Work with them, not against them.”
It took Kaual years to earn his place at the forefront of the business. Today, his father asks what hours he’d like to work, rather than dictating shifts.
That evolution mirrors the store itself: built on old foundations, reimagined for modern retail.
And The Vault?
It stands as both symbol and substance – a bold declaration that independent convenience retail doesn’t have to be small in ambition.