When Jay Patel opened a corner shop in Brockley after moving to London from India in 1980, he could hardly have known that the business would still be serving the same community 46 years later with his son Pratik now running the day-to-day operation alongside his brother Tilak.
The shop has evolved into Jay's Budgens as the area around it has changed, becoming more affluent and bringing new expectations from shoppers. The family has responded by expanding the shop floor into the former storeroom, introducing zoning to improve navigation and adding more chillers.
A dedicated food-to-go area now sits at the front of the store, while Meghana, Pratik's wife, supplies popular products from her own Indian food brand, particularly her samosas.
Yet the strongest thread running through the business is the relationship with its community. Patel describes customers as being like family, with the store's role extending well beyond selling groceries.
For seven years, Jay's Budgens has maintained a strong partnership with Lewisham Foodbank, including a donation point in the shop. The Patel family has also built community activity around local schools and the library, supplying toys and stationery at cost or subsidised prices for children's classes.
School events have become another important part of the store's contribution. The business supplies food for events such as quiz nights for around 150 parents, while its breakfast cook-offs, summer fairs and sports-day events provide products at 50p for schools to sell at £1, helping raise money for equipment and projects.
The store also gives generously to local groups through raffle prizes, although its offer has evolved with changing tastes. Instead of traditional champagne prizes, it now provides three-course meals for two.
Sport is another community connection. Jay's Budgens sponsors Hillyfielders' Warriors Under-10s football team, whose shirts carry the store's name. The family also supports charity activity at the local church, with Jay helping fundraising efforts including work to repair the church roof, while the store supplies food such as Meghana's samosas for events.
The family has extended that support to Crofton Park Railway Gardens Society's community and Christmas markets, providing Indian food and mince pies.
There is a commercial discipline underpinning all this community work. The store is a 1,000–2,500 sq ft high-street c-store, trading under Budgens and supplied by Booker. It has been in the family business for 46 years.
For Patel, the equation is straightforward: a local shop cannot thrive without the community around it, and the community benefits when local businesses are willing to put something back. At Jay's Budgens, that relationship has been built over generations – one foodbank donation, school event, football shirt and samosa at a time.