Serving the fourth generation…..an interview with Kulwinder Singh Gill

Kulwinder Singh Gill, a Punjabi Sikh, immigrated to the UK in 1981 to help his uncle run their family business, Bharat Food Store, located on the corner of Green Street and Carlton Terrace. He was interviewed by Gulshun Rehman, a regular shopper at Bharat’s and a member of the Story Collectors Project as part of Newham Heritage Month’s 2024 theme of ‘Places and Spaces’. 

Setting up shop in Green Street

Kulwinder made his journey to the UK in 1981 to join the family grocery business in Green Street. Kulwinder’s is a classic story of immigration from South Asia between the 1950’s and early 1980’s, when many families from India, Pakistan and, latterly Bangladesh, came to Britain for improved livelihoods and economic prosperity. In this interview clip he talks about arriving in Newham in 1981 on a ‘spouse visa’, he married his fiancée from Leicester, and promptly started working in the family grocery business. While living in the flat above the shop, they gradually expanded the business by purchasing several adjacent shops. Kulwinder also spoke of the hardships and many challenges he and his family endured to make end meet

Sometimes we used to make – if we make £50, £50 sale today, we will have a KFC. …. we stuck on £48, £49, and then we keep our shop open till we got another pound.  Then, okay, we can treat ourselves

Starting out as a family enterprise, over time as families expanded with the next generation. Kulwinder spoke with pride about his commitment to providing

“One of the best service we can give the customer, my staff, the service, but that’s my prices, that’s my quality’. 

 

Competition and International Recognition

Strong competition and a price war from other traders ultimately helped to boost the popularity of Green Street by attracting more businesses. Kulwinder spoke of the slow expansion of Green Street during the late 1980s and early 1990s with other key retailers arriving to benefit from the increased business opportunities in Green Street made more attractive by cheaper rents and overheads compared to places like Southall or Wembley. 

The arrival of new immigrant communities from different nations helped to shape the business landscape on Green Street as it exists today. During the 1990’s the arrival of West African communities into Newham boosted the business landscape in the Southern half of Green Street (divided by Plashet Grove, the Northern half serving largely South Asians with the Southern a melting pot of West African, South Asian and other migrant communities served by Queens Market. 

This part of Green Street, from Plashet Grove to Upton Park Road, is a golden half a mile, you can say half a kilometre

 

 

Racism vs Community Cohesion

We also discussed how the relocation of West Ham FC to Stratford affected the business climate in Green Street, specifically the Duke of Edinburgh pub, a popular haunt with West Ham fans,  when they were playing at home. The move to the Olympic Park had a negative impact on the pub leading to its closure in 2016. 

He mentioned that the pub was also popular with National Front supporters, when during the early mid-1980’s there was a lot of racism and racial attacks on Black and Asian communities in Newham (as well as other London boroughs). 

Kulwinder explained that in the early 1980s, aged 25 or 26, he would help a group of Asian young men who were known as the ‘Wimpy Gang’ who would sit in the Wimpy opposite the Duke of Cumberland to defend the community against any potential trouble. 

Despite this, Kulwinder had happier memories of frequenting the Duke of Edinburgh where he used to play pool with Gujarati and Pakistani friends. 

I remember, there was an FA Cup and there was the cricket, India versus Pakistan, the World Cup. One side was all white people watching football, and one side they put cricket, the World Cup. … it’s such a nice atmosphere. And Pakistani boys, Indian boys, they enjoyed themselves…

Time to move on

At the time of the interview in May 2024, Kulwinder spoke of his plan to sell Bharat Food Store and his happiness about being able to help others, especially the poor in India, thanks to the success of his business. He attributed his success to hard work, the support of his family, and the ability to adjust to any situation. On reflecting his 43-year journey owning Bharat Food Store, he was equivocal that his two sons should not follow in his footsteps but follow their professional careers. He looked forward very much to retirement which would allow him to spend more time with his grandchildren.

I’m serving the third generation, I was serving uncles, my uncles, then I started my brothers, you could say, my age brothers. Now I’m serving their kids, even the little kids now, it’s a fourth generation, I’m serving fourth generation, okay