Jose Santos
Customers walk in and out, passing a huge dry cod fillet hanging in the aisle. They chat with the cashier about the weather, look for their favourite brand of coffee, calculate how much vegetables they need for today’s family dinner. “Obrigadinho” is heard at the butcher’s counter. Lusa mini market looks like any shop in a small town of Portugal. Except it is located in Great Yarmouth at the north-east of England.
Jose witnessed the development of the Portuguese shop chain since he came to Great Yarmouth 20 years ago. He started working for Lusa as a driver, eventually becoming a general manager. In summer 2022 Jose is taking ownership of Lusa and has huge plans for its redevelopment. He pays great respect to the business founder, Joao Galante. “When the Portuguese started coming here, they had nothing. Joao was the first one to sell Portuguese, Lithuanian, and Romanian brands. So I just keep going with his work”, says Jose. The business had a bit of a setback during Covid times, and then lost many East European customers, who returned to their home countries after the Brexit. But Jose is sure of Lusa's development and has plans for a new branch in Cambridge. He believes that the customers come to Lusa for something much more than food — they also come for their childhood memories. “Because everything is about the flavours, taste, smell — they remind you of your home, your mom. So all these little things: could be a small jar of beans, or a bottle of wine, or cod fish — no matter what it is, it makes you at home here”.
Having spent half of his life in Great Yarmouth, Jose thinks of the town as his home, even though he misses Portugal sometimes. The businessman attributes a change in his opinion to starting a family here. “Once you have kids and see how they like it here, you start to think a little bit differently. So if you have a chance to do something for this place, of course you want to be involved”, he explains. The business already contributes to the development of arts projects on Great Yarmouth. When local food banks ran out of food recently, Jose focussed his attention on solving this problem. As a local business owner, Jose feels responsible to support local communities and help the town to develop and thrive.