Shahid Gohar made his mind up in 10 minutes whether he’d take over his friend's shop in Harehills Lane.
That was six years ago, and the 43-year-old hasn’t regretted taking over the newsagents for a second even though it was a very quick decision. The father-of-three has spoken about how he strives to help the “struggling” neighbourhood who come into his shop desperate for food, even though they can't afford the most basic of products.
Shahid is originally from Pakistan. He moved to the UK in 2008 and worked his way up in a restaurant for many years, starting out as a kitchen porter and eventually becoming a chef, before turning his back on the industry and becoming a trusty shopkeeper.
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You can now find him behind the counter of the eponymously named Gohar Discount Shop, working tirelessly from 9am to 7pm every day, excluding Islamic prayer times, to support his wife and three children, aged eight, ten and 12.
Harehills is home to a diverse multi-racial community but it is sadly the most impoverished area in the city. There is an average income of £18,300, according to the Office for National Statistics, in Harehills North.
Shahid says many in Harehills don’t have jobs and visit his shop in desperate need of essential items like milk, bread, biscuits, tins of beans or chickpeas and fish but can’t afford them. He says most of the time, he’ll let them have what they need for free as it pains him to see people struggling.
Shahid said: “There’s lots of people who come in here who don’t have enough money to pay, so I give them what they need. Every time. They will either give the money back to me some day or they won’t, it’s alright. It's stuff like milk, bread, biscuits, beans, can of chickpeas and fish.
“There’s lots of people who struggle here. They have no jobs. They come in asking for jobs and I have no jobs to give them. Or they have no food. It makes me feel so bad. No one ever steals things, just little children sometimes.”
Shahid loves having a shop in Harehills due to how busy the area is and as a devout Muslim, he really likes how convenient the nearby mosque is to get to for daily prayers. He feels like he is part of a strong wholesome community.
Shahid said: “I like the community, it’s very busy with a lot of hustle and bustle. There’s a barber shop and takeaways here, lots of people visit. It’s also convenient to go and pray at the nearby mosque.
“I give people a smile when they come to the shop to talk and I ask them how they are, these kinds of things. People smile in the street to me and they come up to me and say they love coming to my shop. And all the other shop owners here are my friends.”
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