As you walk into L7 Village Market, the level of choice is almost overwhelming.
The international supermarket, found on the site of a former Aldi on Prescot Road in Fairfield, is said to stock 15,000 products. Originating from a wide range of countries across seven continents, the stock contains items that you would struggle to find anywhere else in the city.
From a butcher's counter offering sheep's heads, lamb ball and cow skin (alongside other more recognisable cuts) to aisles stocking a treasure trove of lesser-spotted ingredients from every corner of the globe, this a supermarket on a scale you will not find elsewhere. You would could not fail to find what you came in for.
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That is what drives the approach of the store, according to staff member Priscilla Ko. As she and her colleague Ozgur Gulasik - both of whom work in buying and accounts - walked the ECHO around the shop, she said that a customer failing to find what they came in for is the one major thing that they wish to avoid.
Serving a diverse customer base, the village market has been located in the area in some form since the 1990s. Priscilla told the ECHO that the market started on nearby Holt Road before moving to Laurel Road, expanding and then moving into the site vacated by Aldi in 2015.
With aisles devoted to different world cuisines, including Chinese, Japanese, Eastern European, Caribbean, Indian, and Turkish - among others, Ozgur said that the supermarket exists to provide Liverpool's immigrant communities with food and brands that they recognise and to serve as a reminder of home.
That is certainly what working at the shop offers for Ozgur, who moved from Turkey to Liverpool in 2015 to study at John Moores University. Two years ago, he came to L7 Village Market looking for Turkish food and left with a job.
He explained: "A couple of years ago, I was looking for Turkish sausage and cheese. I got here and spoke to staff and they said they were looking for more workers and that’s how I started working here.
“There’s a great community spirit among the staff. I’d never spoken so much Turkish while I’ve been in the UK until I got here. For four years in this country, I barely spoke Turkish at all, but when I started working here, my mind started working in Turkish again."
That feeling of community and belonging is integral to the shop's offering, according to Ozgur. He said: "You feel safe here. If something happens, I can rely on people here. You feel like you belong to something here. It offers a reminder of home for immigrant communities here."
As you walk around, each turn presents a new and unexpected foodstuff. Outside the front of the supermarket is its pièce de résistance. An incredible collection of luscious fruit - most notably watermelons the size of boulders, said to be the biggest in Liverpool - is what catches most people's eyes, according to Priscilla.
Once inside, people will experience the widest selection of vegetables you're likely to see, as well as products like Pakistani lassi, Turkish cheeses and spice pastes, jars of hering marinat, yam, banana leaves, Iranian pickles, Bulgarian cream, Indian confectionary, green plumbs, endless varieties of feta, Romanian smoked cheese, chow chow, rambutan fruit, Albanian jams, Palestinian beans, Jamaican dried fish, mustard oils, duck eggs, okra, and every herb and spice under the sun - it feels as if all of world cuisine is here.
However, the L7 Village Market refuses to rest on its laurels. It is clear that their approach is that more can always be found. Ozgur said he had recently been speaking with South American suppliers in order to expand its stock of products from that region, while Priscilla, who already deals with around 80 suppliers, added: “We’re always trying to expand the range of products.
"Customers ask for certain products, if we don’t have it, we try to find it that same day. We always try to find more anyway."
With so many moving parts and dealing with so many buyers, there is a thrilling and frantic feel to the market. As the ECHO walks around with Priscilla and Ozgur, they are often taken away to coordinate the arrival of more deliveries or answer phone calls from buyers from all over the world. You imagine that there's never a quiet moment here.
However, the scope and scale of the operation does come with challenges. Ozgur said that recent times have been hard for the store - especially as the cost of living crisis has taken hold. He said: "Times are hard for trading. Delivery is two or three times the price it used to be”.
However, trade remains strong. Though popular with restaurants - especially its in-store bakery - Priscilla said that the village market gets about 80% of its trade from households. At weekends, she says that people queue outside before opening for bread baked in-store, while the shop can get so busy that the aisles become full with people waiting for the checkouts.
They aim for the shop to provide a reminder of home for many, as well as selling food that others may have never seen before. With 15,000 products in store, there's a high chance of that.
Priscilla said: "It’s the sort of shop that people spend a lot of time in. When you look around, something else will catch your eye, things that you’ve never seen before. You’ll want to know and spend time here. That’s why our car park is full all of the time - people stay so long.
“There’s a feeling of community - warm and welcoming, but everyone’s in for a different reason. Every morning, come 9am, there are people queuing outside. We say to people, if you find something you’ve never eaten before, just try it. We want people to explore and expand their mind - we’re wanting to bring different traditions and culture to everyone.”
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