by Maria Victoria Calabrese
The majority of small businesses, especially the ones located in street markets, rely on people working in offices, students and people who shop locally to make an income. Since offices, schools and universities have been closed, markets such as the Nag’s Head on Seven Sisters Road have seen a significant drop in customers.
The market has been an institution in Holloway for a long time; the usually bustling and lively market is now deserted and it doesn’t seem like it is going to recover any time soon.
Mesut Kchveci, 25, runs Baba Burger with his mother. He moved into the Market a little over eight months ago.
“It’s been bad you know. I’ve been trying to advertise us online but people just don’t know we’re here. People who don’t know us would rather order McDonald’s, which is worse quality. The people that have been keeping my business alive are locals that know we are here and come regularly.”
Kchveci has applied for a government grant but has been declined multiple times. “What would really help us is if the council would advertise Nags Head. We are a good store and we make good food but we can’t show that to people if nobody knows we’re here.”
Ani Kai works in the fruit store just at the entrance of the Market. It too is a family-owned business.
“During the initial panic of the first lockdown we couldn’t keep up, we were running out of things constantly. Then it was dead for months, nobody was coming to us,” said the 27-year-old.
“It’s funny because you would see huge lines outside of the big stores while the market was empty. Now things are normalising for us but the majority of the market is dead and I don’t think it’s going to recover.”
The small business has also been severely affected by Brexit. Kai said: “ Brexit was just one more problem. Customers complain about the prices going up and we have to tell them that we can’t change them. So they might go to big chain stores because they are better at keeping the prices down.”
Brexit and the pandemic have been a slap in the face for many small business owners, and even though the government has given out some grants, many are asking for more support. This can come in the form of advertisements for the Market and/or an investment scheme to help revive it.
A Facebook page created for the Market in 2014 shows no activity since September last year. In 2017, TimeOut described it as a “great, long-established indoor shopping haven”.
“Visitors will uncover all kinds of second-hand and antique gems, as well as clothes, crafts and jewellery,” it said. “There’s also a bevy of food from Colombia, Japan, Lebanon, America, Korea and more, with vegan and veggie options aplenty.”
But at the moment, Nag’s Head is dying quickly – and there doesn’t seem to be a lifeline.
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