Co-op

I love the fact that there’s a Co-​op in the centre of Penarth, as it means that the locals can use the independent butchers and green grocers, and then go to the Co-​op to stock up on their staples. This makes a trip to the large Tesco’s on the outskirts of town a little unnecessary… which is good news in my estimations! (it’s not that I haven’t shopped at the large Tesco’s, it’s just that I would prefer not to! By the way, I went there one Sunday morning about 9.20 as I needed a prescription, and I was horrified to see a large crowd of people queuing to get in. This was made all the more tragic in my mind for a few reasons… it was raining… the doors opened at 9.30 but nothing could actually be bought until 10.00am… and the majority of the people there were old aged pensioners… why were they standing out in the cold waiting to go to a supermarket???)
Anyway, I think that the Co-​op in town is a brilliant alternative! Try it!

I was sent out to buy Weight Watchers bread and could not find anything like it except for Nimble bread in this Co-​op — good shop and helpful staff.

There is a glut of local supermarkets these days in Penarth centre. This Co-​op store is nestled neatly between Sainsbury’s Local and Spar, and still, somehow manages to remain open to the good old public.
This is the most cramped of all stores, but it also has a good range of food; often something a little bit different from the others. They have good morals too: fairtrade and all that jazz is well up there on their list of priorities, which is commendable.
There are, fortunately, no self-​serve machines in here, and the staff are generally quick to serve and helpful.
There’s one things I will never really understand though. There’s always a mini-​trolley near the cashiers which is full of discount products; but it’s just weird and badly placed, because there’s already not a whole lot of space once you’ve got more than two people trying to pay at the same time.
Silly billies.

The co-​op in Penarth underwent a complete makeover fairly recently and is much improved for it. Handily open until 9pm every night, the co-​op stocks a great range of everyday products as well as an award-​winning range fairtrade products. The store is well lit presented and although the aisles are as narrow as ever, its appearence is much improved. Staff are bright and friendly and ready to jump on a till when the queues build up. The co-​op also runs a membership rewards scheme which allows you vouchers off your shopping bills a couple of times a year.