A NEW grocery store has opened in the town centre to offer something different to customers.

Kul Gaha and Ram Thapa have set up shop on the corner of Sanford Street and Edgeware Road to sell a range of Nepalese, Indian and Oriental food.

They have been in Swindon for 16 years and worked in retail for 10 while mulling over plans to become their own bosses and launch Gandaki Grocery Store.

Covid paused their progress but they are excited to finally be up and running, and have a delivery service.

Kul focuses on the shop management side of things with two other staff while Ram will manage the butcher's section which should be ready in the next few weeks

The store owners spread the word through the Nepalese community by publishing leaflets and posting online but want to encourage people from every community in Swindon to sample their wares.

After successfully applying to Swindon Borough Council for a premises licence, they opened the shop's doors for the first time last week.

By offering specialist products and different brands from the standard supermarket fare, they hope to hold their own against tough competition from the nearby chains.

Kul told the Adver: "I've always wanted to run my own business, it's something that everyone thinks about. It's really hard to set something like this up but we're doing our best.

"Our first plan for the shop was completed a few years ago but it couldn't get off the ground because the pandemic stopped us doing anything for a while.

"We tried again and were more successful this time, with support from our family and by dipping into our savings.

"There are not any grocery stores like ours in this area and there are lots of mixed communities in the nearby flats who want these products, so we saw an opportunity.

"We are reasonably priced and have stuff the chains do not have. We are thinking big, we want to expand this shop to different areas in the future as well."

The shop is open from 9am to 8pm every day. Call 01793 612331 or email contact@ggstores.co.uk

Kul Gaha and Ram Thapa at Gandaki Grocery Store on Sanford Street

Kul Gaha and Ram Thapa at Gandaki Grocery Store on Sanford Street