A Chinese supermarket owner has said she wants to provide a ‘home base’ for the Asian community in Southampton.
Shirley Yan, 40, opened the new T-Rex Supermarket and Bubble Tea on Portswood Road on January 21 with her husband, Andy Chung, 49.
The couple have pioneered the Tea-Rex Bubble Tea store on Bargate Street in the city centre and now want to expand their horizons to serve the Asian community of Southampton.
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The store, which has taken over the space where Superdrug once stood, sells food from six Asian countries: China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
It also includes a bubble tea section where shoppers can enjoy a drink while buying their essentials.
Shirley is from China and has lived in the UK for 20 years.
She said: “We want to provide a home base for the Asian community in Southampton.
“We want to be the go-to shop that people come to for Chinese and Asian food.”
She explained that whenever she wanted to go to a big shop for food from home, she would have to travel to London.
Therefore, the business owner decided to open a new store offering a variety of Asian items.
On the day of the grand opening, crowds turned up to find a shop stocked with goodies.
Shirley, who used to own a Chinese takeaway and a fish and chip shop, said she is excited about the future.
She said: “It was very exciting, it’s a new experience for me.
"We have been very lucky with the location being on the main road right next to the bus station and a two-hour free car park at the back of the store.”
She hoped word of mouth would help the business pick up.
She said: “Considering I have only done some marketing among people in the Chinese community and no one else, it’s not been a bad start.
“I expect in the coming months for it to get better as more people find out about us.”
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