Some food shops are new, while others have been a part of the neighbourhood as long as anyone can remember. Local shops add colour to city life. There’s lots to tell about: the shopkeepers, the customers, the merchandise and of course the shops themselves.
The MAS | Museum aan de Stroom embarked on a search for stories about and pictures of these shops, from 1950 to the present day. We highlight three shopping areas: Van Wesenbekestraat to Onderwijsstraat in Antwerp Noord, the Bredabaan area in Merksem, and the villages of Berendrecht and Zandvliet.
In the districts themselves, The Corner Shop with its unforgettable testimonies and nostalgic pictures, reveals a piece of shopping history. We tell almost forgotten stories about the phenomenon of the ‘soup farmers’ in Antwerp Noord and the success of Antwerp’s only covered market: the Criée. About the world’s longest cheese table, which was in Merksem. And about how a farmer named Stan had his land forcibly purchased; later, the first supermarket in Zandvliet was opened there, an event that changed everything for the local shopkeeper…or did it?
Meet Benny, Ewald, Hubert, Ludo, Juliette and Romania and the stories about how their families have kept the corner shop running for half a century.
Read here about how this project took shape
Practical information
The Corner Shop. Antwerp’s Local Shops from 1950 to the Present
- Merksem District Hall (Burgemeester Jozef Nolfplein 1, 2170 Merksem)
- Open:
o during business hours
o exceptionally, every Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm and on Sunday 30 August from 9 am to 5 pm
In collaboration with the district of Antwerp, the district of Berendrecht-Zandvliet-Lillo and the district of Merksem