City’s first Asian grocery store coming to market place

An Ely couple have launched the city’s first Asian grocery store after spotting a gap in the market and are opening this weekend.  

Tony Thommes and his partner Adrian would drive all the way Cambridge just to buy Asian products after finding nothing in Ely.  

He said: “We always thought 'wouldn't it be great if Ely had a shop like that' and so in the end we decided to open one ourselves in the form of a market stall. 

“We chose Ely because this is where we live and we often drive all the way to Mill Rd in Cambridge to buy Asian products.”  

The pair will launch their stall, named Ely Oriental Groceries, at Ely Market on Sunday, April 18.  

Products on offer include Malaysian curry paste, Chinese tea, Thai vermicelli, Indonesian instant noodles, Korean snacks, as well as big bags of rice, sauces, marinades, seasoning, pickles vegetables, hot pot blocks, and many more typical grocery products from all around east and south east Asia. 

Mr Thommes added: “There are currently no Asian grocery stores in Ely so people like me and my partner who enjoy cooking Asian food have to travel to Cambridge or Newmarket to buy specialised products, or buy online and pay expensive delivery fees often for just a few items. 

“We wanted to fill this gap and so we've launched Ely Oriental Groceries. 

“We'll be on Ely Market every Sunday and we offer click and collect on online orders placed through our website.”  

For more information, visit: www.elyorientalgroceries.co.uk/