Angela Supermarket is a Tamil grocery store that opened to help provide spices and other authentic ingredients that were previously unavailable in the London area. Owner Partheepan Kanapathipillai opened the store in November 2020, which was considered a risky proposition amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, but the store found its audience.
New supermarkets and other stores often use banner printing and special sales to help get people in the door and make the store part of their routine. While Angela Supermarket skews towards food from Tamil and South Asian goods, in a statement, store spokesman Kumaran Markandu encouraged all customers who might be looking to expand their culinary range to not:
“Feel that you have to be a certain ethnic group to shop at this supermarket.”
Markandu added that the supermarket as something to offer for everyone.
The new second location will complement the store’s Huron Street branch and online delivery service, which serves customers throughout Southwestern Ontario. Store items include fresh fruit and vegetables commonly used in Tamil cuisine, such as banana leaves and Indian okra, as well as pantry items like rice, condensed milk and biscuits. Many items are imported from Sri Lanka or other South Asian countries.
The second location of Angela Supermarket opened in March 2022 at Unit 2, 661 Wonderland Road.