I visited Sheffield’s newest ‘bargains’ shop and found things I never expected

But after the popular and well-known Beeches of Walkley farm shop finally closed earlier this year, a section of the former shop was left empty for several months.

But not any more. The old Beeches premises has now been split into two. One half re-opened a while ago as Southbank Deli and Eatery. Now, the other half is back in use too, opening up as a ‘bargains’ shop.

Pound Bargains opened up on Friday under its new guise, and I went down to have a look at the new shop, and see how it compared.

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Clearly, it is a very different beast to Beeches.

Friday saw it open up with an arch of red, white and blue balloons around the door to mark the occasion. Whereas Beeches was primarily about food, the only food at the new shop appeared to be chocolate, and snacks with big bars of chocolate for £1.25, tins of pop, and jars of instant coffee.

Sadly, there is no longer a Post Office counter there either.

But there is a surprisingly wide variety of things in there. Among the first things to grab my eye were the £1 tubes of superglue, always handy if you break something at home, a well as a selection of electrical leads, that seem to be useful these days. HDMI cables were on the shelves for £3.50 each.

Further along the aisle there seemed to be ever more unexpected tools, from screwdrivers up to drill bits and and cutting discs. The other side of the aisle had things like tins of paint and paint brushes.

Walking further around, there were things like toiletries (Colgate for £1.40), painkilling tablets, as well as things for kitchens, from small £1.50 dinner plates to big £9.99 frying pans, and £1.20 tin openers.

Then there were toys, stationery and pet supplies.

The size of the tools aisle surprised me, and the shop was probably bigger than I expected.

Other shoppers were pleased to see a shop opening on South Road, at a time when retail is widely in decline,.

One mum outside the shop told The Star: “My girls have been very excited about a new shop. I’ve just got some sun glasses, craft stuff for the girls, and some cleaning products. I think I shall use it.”

Nearby resident Sally Mottram said she had seen some negativity on the internet, but said she thought it was brilliant having another shop opening. “There’s nothing else like this here’” she said. “I’m quite excited.”

Another shopper on the opening day, Basma Abo Amead, said the prices were good, and it was good to see a shop opening up.