Ibrahim Tatli at his butcher’s shop in the Helin supermarket. — © Filip Spoelders
Ibrahim Tatli started a few years ago with a local shop in Edegemsestraat. A few days ago he expanded his activities with a supermarket in Antwerpsestraat. “The butcher shop is off to a flying start.”
Ibrahim comes from Wilrijk, but since his business has become a fixture in the city, he lives in Mortsel. “I started Helin seven years ago as a small local shop in Edegemsestraat. From the start, the business grew continuously, so I started a bakery in the building and later a butcher’s shop. But the store was clearly too small,” says Ibrahim, who focuses on Turkish specialties.
When a larger building, which used to house a furniture store, became available around the corner in Antwerpsestraat, he did not hesitate to open Helin Supermarket and Slagerij.
“Helin is doing well in the Edegemsestraat and Mortsel is only getting busier. So I thought: ‘Why not?’. We have done serious renovations. My team and I now have a spacious retail space of approximately four hundred square meters. I keep the store layout orderly so that customers have space to make purchases. All food items including fresh fruit and vegetables and the butcher shop are on the ground floor. It is halal meat, which allows us to offer a very wide range. During the first days, the butcher’s shop got off to a flying start.”
The store has an area of approximately four hundred square meters. — © Filip Spoelders
Customers can go downstairs where the cleaning and household products are located. In the meantime, Helin continues to operate in Edegemsestraat. “There we concentrate on the warm bakery.”
The supermarket is currently open seven days a week. “We are open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. We do this as a new store to discover the best days and because it is now Ramadan. The opening of the supermarket was quite unplanned. One Sunday I raised the shutters to put something outside and suddenly passers-by started coming in. So I just got started,” concludes Ibrahim, who is sitting at the cash register to introduce himself to the customers.
Tags: Mortsel local store Helin expanding small superette supermarket square meters Wilrijk
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