Bottles, Bikes and Baguettes: Number Two Taunton Road
Many people coming to Balsall Heath have set themselves up with a local shop. Over the last hundred years or so there have been countless businesses in the area and not surprisingly individual premises have been home to several different ones. One of those is Number Two Taunton Road...Back in 1890 and for many years after it was a dairy owned by Arthur Broome and then William Musgrave. It served the area well and employed many locals including my grandfather Ronald Francis. By 1935 it had converted into a motorcycle repair shop most famously known as Shovelbottoms.
In effect number 2 was the whole corner of Taunton and Ladypool Road but after the demise of Shovelbottoms it was converted into separate premises. The “new” number 2 was in modern times a clothes shop called “Top Fashion”.
Seven years ago this was replaced by “Crumbs” – a sandwich takeaway shop. The owner is Asif Mohammed who grew up in Sparkhill and went to Greet Primary School, then Moseley Secondary and Solihull College. His parents were amongst the many who came to Britain from Pakistan in the 1950s. They set up home first in Sheffield before moving to Sparkhill. His dad found work at Lucas (car part manufacturers), once one of Birmingham’s biggest employers, and put in over twenty years working there.
Asif had always been interested in catering and fancied opening a shop offering something a little different to other takeaways. Originally when he started he was the only sandwich shop in the area. Apart from the location, Asif was also happy to set up shop in Balsall Heath because of the great community spirit. “Crumbs” was at this year’s Carnival supplying food and snacks during the day. One customer in for his “usual” said he came because the food was a bit of a change from what he would normally go for. The best seller apparently is Mexican Cajun chicken! The secret of a successful shop in Asif’s opinion is in keeping your customers happy. Happy customers will come back time and again. The shop in fact is a place where many pass the time chatting and putting the world to rights.
Among the passing trade has been Conservative party leader David Cameron. He visited in 2007 with a couple of the local wardens and was, says Asif “a good down to earth chap”. Cameron stopped overnight with Abdullah Rehman and memorably his “webcameron” video diary showed him filling the dishwasher after his evening curry. He visited many shops and served behind the counter in several. Cameron impressed many locals with his genuine interest in their lives and the transformation in Balsall Heath over the last decade.