The Depot

«You’ve tried the rest now try the best!» encourages the italicised shop-​sign above the Depot on Bearwood Road. I’d not tried all the rest before I tried the Depot, but afterwards I certainly didn’t feel like I’d tried the best.
Nor do I feel like the Depot is trying its best. Wild comma-​less claims aside, it appears to be the sort of shop that knows what it does, does it pretty well and asks for nothing more than enough custom to keep going; and more power to ‘em for it.
What the Depot essentially is is a place where you can buy various bits and pieces for the home. I’m sure you recognise its sort even if you’ve never been there, perhaps even if you’ve never read this review. It’s the sort of shop where you can walk away with a mixing bowl, some rawl plugs and a Michael Jackson mirror, all for about a tenner. There’s a lot of these kind of shops in this part of the world (I’m thinking Bearwood, Smethwick, Oldbury, West Brom — West Brum’s equivalent of New York, London, Paris, Munich?) and the Depot, whilst serviceable, has little to make it stand out. It’s the kind of place to check out if you need something, but not the kind of place you’d make a special effort to go to.