I walk past this place every day on my way to work and I believe it to be a new opening. It's quite…read moresmall on the inside at the moment, they are doing up 'the other half' at the moment and last time I went in you could smell the paint! So at least they are doing something to improve it. There's the standard stock of milk, food and lunch time goodies as well as wine and beer. It's in a good location at the bottom of Corporation and should get a lot of food traffic as it's near the University, the hospital and the police station and if nothing, its some competition to Tescos! There is a 50p charge for cards at any price but there is a free cash machine which is useful as there aren't that many on this side of town.

This place is a lovely gem for those in the locality, The man who is usually serving is very…read morefriendly and builds great rapport with regulars. It's great for the usual corner shop finds: sweets, chocolate, cigarettes, fizzy drinks. What is great about this place is that you can also pick up fruit and veg! When my friends and I are cooking we often pick up last minute ingredients from the General Food Store. I have, on more than one occasion, headed round with a list in my head (too good for pen and paper) and returned with an odd assortment of things none of which were integral to the meal. I popped in once on the off chance they might have plastic cups for the wine I was taking to the park (the sun makes this sort of behaviour acceptable) and he did! What a lifesaver!

When I lived around the corner from here a few years ago I used this place on a regular basis, and…read moreI was always amazed it stayed open. They had some tired looking veg out the front and a handful of tinned goods inside a very bare shop. Arriving home from work late it was, however, a convenient place to pick up a pint of milk, or an onion, or some other essential that I needed in order to eat, or have a cup of tea. Since then, however, it appears to have thrived and survived and is now a charming little local store. Clearly those early days for the store were a struggle and having managed to get through that, they've now turned it around and stock a lot more of life's essentials. They are also open quite late so if you are in the area, or live nearby, it's a good place to remember for when you run out of milk, or cigarettes.

In a way, Taylors is quite a strange little shop. It sits about two-thirds of the way down Coles…read moreLane, next to the entrance to the football ground. To all intents and purposes it looks, smells and feels like a newsagents. Only it doesn't sell newspapers. It sells fags, sweets, groceries and bakery-esque stuff but if it's a newspaper you want, you have to go to the shop called Shop on the corner of the lane. It also doesn't open late like most newsagents or corner shops. Taylors has been going for years and does what it does pretty well. It's popular with schoolkids because as well as the usual array of chocolste bars, it sells sweets out of jars behind the counter, something other nearby shops don't do. It's also popular with local residents who I'm sure keep up on all the gossip when they visit to pick up odds and ends.

This is a fairly standard Costcutter store located within what used to be The Broadstones pub. You…read morecan easily make out its pubby past from the distinctive "1970s boozer" architectural flourishes. The brick work is a depressing shade of grey/brown and there are bars on the windows. It is a bit grim. They have a cashpoint and sell phone top-up credit. They have some decent(ish) deals on a range of food and drink items. My favourite bit about this shop is the view that you get - it is perched high on a hill over looking Dudley and Halesowen. Ideal if you fancy a Frey Bentos chicken and mushroom (pie) with a view. Sorry, I couldn't help it.

Tesco Express on High Street in Solihull is a large location for an "Express" store, it is in a…read moregreat location within the town, it is close to multiple bus services and opposite Touchwood Shopping Centre. It represents more of a quick grab and go shopping experience, compared to the large Waitrose nearby. The store was relatively modern and it had a nice feel to it, compared to some other Tesco Express stores, which can sometimes feel a little dated. They had a nice selection of to-go food and drink, with a small selection of essentials including alcohol, and a Costa coffee machine. 4* - Useful store within the town, it can be a little awkward at times asking people to get past when busy, but that is typical with these types of stores.

Spar on Brindley Place is a decent-sized unit, the store is modern and much more attractive…read moreaesthetically than most other SPAR stores I have visited in the past, it also includes a coffee machine and counter from Philpotts. The location is good, it's quite central within the Brindley Place area of Birmingham and a short walk away from the Hilton Garden Inn. I did find the prices to be a little high, even for a convenience store, making it much more expensive than the Sainsbury's Local around the corner. The selection in the store seemed fine, they did have a selection of brands in most areas including milk - many SPAR stores just sell their own brand of milk, but this one sells Cravendale which is useful for me (although the price is very inflated). 3* - A modern convenience store in a useful location, normally open until 11 PM, although the prices are offputting.

If you are a fan of having to carry your ID everywhere and of the Sun newspaper then this is the…read moreperfect Spar for you.....let me explain! Now I like to think I am looking ok approaching 30 but I am under no illusion that I do not look 17 anymore....or 25 really but on occasions I have been refused service of alcohol here due to not having ID. I fully respect the laws surrounding alcohol and its consumption but surely you have to use your discretion at points.....this Spar does not seem to do so if you are going to buy a beer or bottle of wine on your way home......don't forget your passport or driving licence! The latter half of my opening statement is due to the fact that if you go into this Spar later in the evening you can get a free Sun newspaper. Totally not my thing but I mean sometimes I will take one......incase I need to clean the windows in the flat! I find that newspaper is the best way to get glass clean with a decent glass cleaner on! Kim and Aggie have taught me well! Other than that there is a basic selection of food and drinks here....everything you would expect for a local shop with the hidden surprise of a Subway at the back. Overall decent.

This is a bit of a jack-of-all-trades convenience store with a 'cafe' and dry-cleaning service…read moreavailable. They stock all of your typical convenience store goods; milk, eggs, bread, cereal and so on. It comes in handy when I'm on my way into the Jewellery Quarter and need to pick up something on the go. The cafe isn't one that I would choose to go to - Rosella's a bit of a weird amalgamation of services that leaves it all a bit substandard. Anyway it fulfils it's purpose of being a convenience store, as does the cafe - so perhaps the cafe is best described as more of a convenience cafe. It's not the most extraordinary of establishment that you'll ever visit (in case you were expecting that) - but it's prototypical, reliable convenience store to get a mars bar and a pint of milk when passing by or in your slippers.

For such a residential street, it is surprising that this 'corner shop' isn't open longer hours. In…read morefact, many times I've walked past this shop in the middle of George Street, underneath a big block of flats and it appears closed. It doesn't open till 9am, however, it is very handy to have something close by if I run out. We've been in their for supplies to ease of a cold as well as basics such as eggs and bread when we've been caught short. Service is always good. They also have dry cleaning from here now and it's a point to collect post if you're out during the day. There is a cafe in there and I'm not sure if the attached pizza take away is ever open but I may find out one day!

When this was opening on Newhall Street, it was before Birmingham's independent coffee shop…read moreexplosion and I got quite excited that they were opening a little cafe inside the corner shop. It turns out it's just a few tables and chairs but I still thought I could work from there in short stints. Then the aforementioned coffee shops arrived and now I have plenty of choice as to which one I visit each day. However, Machans does have everything you need as far as a corner shop is concerned. Not a huge selection but I'm sure the block of flats above it appreciate it more and I imagine (not seen) like the idea of popping downstairs for a coffee if they don't want to stray too far. The offices on this street will account for some of the business too but as a resident, I wish the local shops would open longer hours, ideally till 11pm in case we locals have forgotten to buy milk for the morning. Especially as they compete with the mini Tesco's (many of them) that are the alternative for a late night snack.