Asked about the enduring appeal of his hardware store, Roberts says: “It’s a community as much as anything. People like coming in and having a relationship they feel they can trust.” Perhaps one reason why this social factor is so valued is that we have so little else to hold our neighbourhoods together. It is as though the burden of creating a sense of community and cohesion has fallen disproportionately on the shoulders of local businesses. We need them more than ever to fill a hole that has been created by decades of creeping social atomisation.
Article for the FT Weekend