The gravy Christmas tree at Arkwhites.

Hastings gets its first best before store

HOT’s Judy Parkinson usually has her head in the art world, and as she strolled along George Street, a window display stopped her in her tracks.  What is this new shop Arkwhites, with its tribute to Andy Warhol’s shipping carton sculptures?  Are they making a 21^st century statement on commercial packaging and mass production au Warhol?

The artwork in the window is in fact a GRAVY CHRISTMAS TREE consisting of a pyramid of buckets of Bisto granules. Ho, ho, ho!

Wanting to find out more, I stepped inside the new shop to talk to Alex White, man of the moment and proprietor of Arkwhites.

Arkwhites is a discount food shop with shelves artfully stacked with preserved and dry food and drink products, but it’s also gallery of sorts where customers can muse on the beauty of everyday products, a Warhol-like show of graphics and packaging design.

One of many well-known brand names

There are quite a few well-known brand names on packs of pasta, coffee, nuts, biscuits, confectionary, chocolates, crisps, and bottles of drinks, sauces, mayo and pickles.  There are laundry products and bath bubbles along with Christmas goodies, and of course gravy granules – all at knock-down prices.

Alex White was born and bred in Hastings. He knows a thing or two about buying food, having run White’s Seafood and Steak Bar for 15 years. “I retired last year and then I got a bit bored,” he recalls.

Gobsmacked

“As I went round supermarkets, I was gobsmacked at how much everything costs, and friends have told me they can’t afford to feed their families. I thought I’d try and make life easier for everyone battling with the high cost of living. We are trying to be between 30% and 70% cheaper than local supermarkets.”

You can’t buy much for £1 but you can in Arkwhites!

White already had contacts with suppliers all over the country and every fortnight he takes his van far and wide to pick up foodstuffs – some nearly out of date, and others just beyond their best before date.  (A use-by-date indicates when a product is not safe to eat and none of the products in the shop has a use-by-date.)

“A lot of this stuff would go to landfill which is ridiculous. Wasting food is unforgiveable. Some things are beyond their best before date, but common sense tells us they are safe – things like pasta and vac-packed products. They don’t really go off.

“This is a good shop in a good area. I wondered if I should I sell antiques or clothes, but there are plenty of those in the old town. I decided what we need is a discount store.” White was inspired by how he used to go with his parents to what they called the ‘dented tin shop’ in Queens Road, where, back in the day, you could buy food in slightly damaged tins at a discount.

“The stuff I can get, I buy it cheap and sell it cheap. I’m not in it to make big profits, as long as I can cover the overheads. I’m aiming to support the community by helping people who can’t afford the prices at the moment. Good food should not be a luxury.”

Arkwhites Best Before Store is at 8 George Street, Hastings TN34 3EG. It is open on Wednesdays to Sundays from 11am to 4pm (Saturdays from 10am to 5pm). Closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Cash only.

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