Corner Shop

The Corner Shop, was the first building to be seen when Coronation Street started. The first known owner of the shop was Elsie Lappin who ran the shop from 1918-1960. The next person to own the shop was Florrie Lindley who ran the shop from 1960 until she re-married her ex-husband in 1965. In 1965 ex-army seargent Lionel Petty bought the corner shop and closed down the failed sub-post office. Lionel Petty was rarely seen and in 1966 Lionel decided to give up the shop and sold it to David and Irma Barlow. David and Irma had a rocky start to their marriage and in 1968 the couple decided to emigrate to Australia. In mid 1968 Les and Maggie Clegg bought the shop, but unfortunately due to Les's alcohol problem Les and Maggie got a divorce and Les gave the shop to Maggie as a settlement. In 1970 Irma returned a widow, David and her baby son Darren were killed in a car crash, Irma took the job as shop assitant. In 1974 Maggie married Ron Cooke, the couple decided to emigrate to Zaire and the shop was sold to the rarely seen Hopkins family. In 1976 Renee Bradshaw bought the shop and applies to be an off-licence, Annie Walker opposed the idea but unfortunately for Annie, Renee won the application. in 1978 Renee married Alf Roberts and a year later Alf decided to give up his job at the council offices to spend more time helping Renee in the shop but Renee was against the idea feeling Alf would not fit in serving customers all day, this issue led to the couple having a heated discussion. After Alf had recovered from the injuries from the lorry crash in the Rovers Return, in 1980 Alf and Renee decided to sell the shop and buy a sub-post office in Grange-Over-Sands, while out celebrating by having a meal in a country pub Renee had to drive the car as Alf knew that he would be over the Drinking limit, at a set of traffic lights on a country road Renee stalled the car, Alf had just got out of the passenger side seat to take Renee's place driving the car, unfortunately a lorry was coming in the opposite direction, Alf saw the lorry and shouted to Renee to get out but it was to late, the lorry hit the car head on and Renee lurched foreward throught the windscreen, Renee later died in hospital from her injuries. in 1985 Alf decided to move on from Renee's death and changed the structure and layout of the Corner Shop, Alf had the shop enlarged into the back room and demolishing the staircase that had been their since the street was built in 1902, and turned the upstairs 'Bedsit' into a comfortable flat. Alf opened his 'New' shop in October 1985, in mid-October 1985 Alf proposed to Miss Audrey Potter, she accepted and a few weeks later they became Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Roberts. When the newlyweds moved into the shop flat, Audrey made it quite clear that she did not intend on living above a backstreet shop permenantely and Alf splashed out 11,000 pounds on No.11 Coronation Street. Alf decided to retire from the shop at the age of sixty-seven in 1993, he sold the Mini-Market to Bettabuy manager Brendan Scott. Brendan was hoping to open a chain of shops he was going to call 'Bestbuys', he saw the Coronation Street shop as the first rung in his empire. However Brendan's dream was not fulfilled, and the dream of a chain of community shops died with brendan who suffered a heart attack on the shop floor, Brendan's widow Debi had no wish to hang onto the shop and put the shop up for sale, Alf Roberts bought the shop back and made a very handsome profit by selling it for 68,000 pounds to Reg Holdsworth. Reg was the replacement Bettabuy manager and Reg ran the shop with his wife Maureen. When Reg was having an affair with a 'mystery' woman, Maureen found out and wanted a divorce from Reg. As well as a divorce, Maureen also wanted the Corner Shop as a settlement, later in 1995, Reg left the street and has never been seen since. In 1998, Maureen decided to sell up and move on from Weatherfield, Fred Elliot bought the shop from Maureen and ran it with his "Nephew" Ashley Peacock, Ashley strongly opposed his "Uncle's" way of cheating fellow Pensioner Maud Grimes out of money. In late 1999, Fred decided to sell the shop and Ravi Desai was the first person to put an offer in, the shop was run by Ravi's daughter Nita and Ravi's wife Maya. In 2000 Ravi decided to sell the Corner Shop and six others to his nephew Dev Alahan which he took. Late in 2004 Dev's empire of Corner Shops and Mini-Markets went up in smoke. Dev soon realised that it was his "proposed" fiancé Maya Sharma that was behind the arson attacks. He also realised that his wife, Sunita was in grave danger, when he phoned home, Sunita answered but the conversation was halted by sudden screaming, Maya answered the phone and told Dev to come home. When Dev eventually got home he found a message that told him to go to the property that had not yet been destroyed, the Corner Shop in Weatherfield, when Dev arrived in the shop flat he found Sunita bound to the gas cooker, he tried to free her but Maya hit Dev over the gead with a fire extinguisher and bound him to. When Dev came round he saw Maya staring at him, the pair then had a very serious argument about their original Marital arrangements until a police officer came to the shop, noticing the flat was light on, he tried the intercom and Maya picked up the reciever, Maya then pretended to be Sunita, Dev cried out for help but Maya gagged him. While Maya was talking to the officer Dev snuck into the kitchen an managed to get a kitchen knife, just before Maya returned Dev got back into position. The next morning when the officer had gone Maya put her plan into action. First Maya turned the gas on the cooker and removed the knobs so that it could not be turned off, she the took the fire extinguisher, locked the flat door and started a fire in the shop itself, using Dev and Sunita's wedding photographs and shop products. the fire was first noticed by Jamie Baldwin who was returning from a night out, Rita then called the fire brigade, Dev then broke the window to catch people's attention. Ken Barlow evacuated the houses while Ciaran McCarthy and Charlie Stubbs broke into the shop flat and save Dev and Sunita just before the shop exploded in a dramatic fireball. Enraged by the survival of the couple Maya tried to mow them down, but she missed and crashed into the viaduct. Dev rebuilt the Corner Shop and unfortunately Sunita found out about an affair he had years ago, Sunita could no longer trust Dev and she left him, Sunita has not been seen since.