Kentish Express Ashford & District
FILLING UP
Macknade reveals plans to expand its popular Elwick Place site before Christmas Confident council bosses say ‘all but one’ empty unit is now under offer at complex
Ashford’s Macknade is set to expand into an adjoining unit before Christmas, the Kentish Express can reveal.
The family-run business opened at the £75 million Elwick Place leisure complex in February, becoming the first foodand-drink tenant to move into the site.
It is now preparing to take on the former Ashford International Model Railway Education Centre (AIMREC) spot, which closed in August.
Managing director Stefano Cuomo, who is in the sixth generation of the family business, says staff will knock down the wall separating the units to make more room.
His current set-up – below the sixscreen Picturehouse cinema in Elwick Road – offers 5,123 sq ft of space, but expanding into the AIMREC site will add a further 3,500 sq ft.
Mr Cuomo says he will be increasing his offering of wine, spirits and non-alcoholic drinks, as well as selling more groceries and an extended delicatessen counter.
When his current unit opened in February, about 30% of the space was dedicated to the sale of goods, with the remaining 70% taken up by a dining area.
Mr Cuomo says he is still “ironing out some bits and pieces” but hopes to expand the business before Christmas.
“It will take us a couple of months to kit it all out,” he said.
“It has not been plain sailing with Covid, but the team has been absolutely fantastic.
“We have just got to get through Covid and as a community we can manage it together and get the best out of it.”
Mr Cuomo – whose family has been running a food hall in Faversham for decades – says he has been pleased to welcome back customers following the coronavirus lockdown.
“We had a fantastic first month in February and then we were just about to start opening in the evenings and were put into lockdown,” he said.
“In June, we reopened with more retail space and people have enjoyed the grocery side of it. It’s great that people are coming back in and finding us again.”
Mr Cuomo says expanding at Elwick Place will create more jobs, but couldn’t confirm how many.
“We have still got a long way to go, but the opportunity in Ashford is huge,” he said.
“It is such a diverse town and to be here now is wonderful. The other units near us are starting to come along now so it is really positive.
“I think, in the next two to three years, it will be really buzzing at Elwick Place.”