Husband and wife's grocery gives city a taste of Poland

A HUSBAND and wife have opened the largest Polish grocery store in Derby's city centre to sell a range of products from their native country.

Adam and Ewa Strombek are stocking a range of Polish delicacies at the Albert Street store, such as spicy sausage, pickled cabbage and chocolate-covered marshmallows.

The business has been named Ewa, after Mrs Strombek – the Polish version of the name Eve.

The couple came to the UK five years ago from Nysa, in south-west Poland, looking for work.

In 2006, the couple moved to Derby, which has a Polish community of around 6,000 people.

The business is the largest Polish grocery shop in the city centre. The only other is a small stall in the Market Hall.

Mr Strombek said: "Derby has always had a big Polish community, ever since the end of the Second World War, when many Polish servicemen decided to stay.

"In the last 12 months, a lot of Polish people, including many of our friends, have returned home because they have been made redundant by the recession. But there are many others who are on fixed contracts who intend to stay. We feel there is still a demand out there."

The couple have previous experience of running shops back in Poland.

Mr Strombek said: "Ewa managed several supermarkets back in Poland so she developed contacts with suppliers. Our aim is to introduce the community to products that cannot be found in other convenience and large retail stores.

"The first few days we have been open, the majority of customers have been English. They are very interested in the different products. We are always on hand to help them and explain some of the products and how they are used."

Their dream was made possible with help from Small Loans for Business, formally known as Enterprise Loans East Midlands.

Established by East Midlands Development Agency and managed by First Enterprise Business Agency, it provides firms and entrepreneurs with loans of between £3,000 and £20,000. Quamar Zaman, chief executive of First Enterprise Business Agency, said the scheme was a sustainable source of funding, addressing difficulties firms may have encountered accessing finance from traditional routes, such as banks.

Entrepreneurs thinking of starting up in business should contact Business Link on 0845 058 6644 or visit www.business link.gov.uk. For details about Small Loans for Business, call 0845 602 7355.