A crowd of over 150 people gathered outside a new Marks & Spencer food hall in Sidcup for the opening ceremony this morning. There were cheers when store manager Karen Black cut the ribbon at 9 a.m. and declared the 7,200 sq ft store on Station Road officially open.
The food hall is laid out in market style and offers customers aisles full of M&S Foods’ own award-winning home brands. An in-store bakery serves baked goods, bread and coffee to go, as well as fresh produce from selected farms, along with a wine shop and dining options. Summer treats include New York-inspired dips, cooked tapas, strawberries and designer pizzas.
The team has been counting down the days until opening and this morning over 150 local customers started queuing ahead of the opening to get a first look inside the store. As a special treat, DJ Brookie performed live music for shoppers and the Mayor of Sidcup, Cllr Sue Gower, also came to congratulate staff on the store opening.
Store manager Karen Black, who has worked at M&S for 20 years, said: “We couldn’t be more excited to officially open our brand new Sidcup Foodhall today! I’d like to thank the whole team for all their hard work to get everything ready for our customers and I can’t wait for our customers to explore all the new features the store has to offer.
“The store is an exciting investment in the future of M&S in Sidcup and it’s brilliant to be part of the local community. With a fantastic new fresh market-style food hall, the perfect place to shop for your M&S favourites, we really have the best of M&S here for everyone to enjoy!
“The atmosphere in store has been electric today and we’ve loved welcoming new and familiar faces through the doors. We really encourage local shoppers to come down and try the store for themselves – they won’t be disappointed!”
More than 50 local people have been recruited to join the M&S Sidcup team, including Tom Copsey from Wilmington, whose stage name is Alexander Lockheart – a professional wrestler in his spare time. He says the flexibility offered by M&S allows him to continue his career in the sport.
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