Phrase to describe the old corner shop of yesteryear. Meaning Open 24 hours, Well till midnight.
Also UK BBC TV Comedy Series starring Ronnie Barker as Arkwright the manager of a corner shop that is still run along the lines of a 50's grocerers despite existing in the 70's. Gossip and hard sell are the mainstay of the shop leaving customer service and satification well behind. Arkwrights son Granville played by David Jason was treated as a slave to the shop, curtailing his development as an adult. Meaness was a virtue to Arkwright, the source of much of the program's humour together with his unrequited love for Nurse Gladys Emanuel played by Lynda Baron.