York Supplies has been serving the Kings Heath community for 75 years. Founded in 1947 by Sid Yapp, his brother Harry and friend Horace Russell, the business originally occupied the premises that are now the Furniture Clearance Centre on York Road.
Sid had bought the house next door (now Poli) and thought the yard to the side (Kitchen Garden) would be ideal for a hardware business.
Hard work and great personal service brought a steady stream of loyal local customers and tradespeople.
Sid decided to retire in 1988 and Jon Jaffa (the present owner) bought the business. Problems with the building in York Road led Jon to move the shop in 2005 to its present site at the junction of Balaclava Road and Waterloo Road (the shop actually has two addresses and two postcodes!)
Loyal customers continued to flock to the business for the friendly service and helpful advice. It’s always been a hallmark of York Supplies that if you just need one screw, that’s all you need to buy.
Parts of the present York Supplies building date to 1850 and in the mid 20th century housed an engineering company which made, amongst other things, steering wheels for Longbridge.
Now, following in the footsteps of Sid Yapp, it’s time for Jon to retire after 35 years of service to Kings Heath. During this time he’s become a well known and much loved local figure.
It’s Jon’s earnest wish that York Supplies continues, which is why he is supporting York Supplies Action Group in their plans to develop the business as a co-operative, ensuring it is on the road to 75 more years of great local service with the same ethos and atmosphere which is so loved in Kings Heath.
We need your help!
To get involved please sign up to our mailing list and come along to our next market stall.
Our community share offer launched on Friday 21 July! We hope you will consider buying a stake in the future of the shop for as little as £100.