Kentish Express Ashford & District
Food chains move out while outlet expands
Plans to extend the McArthurGlen Designer Outlet in Ashford are now under way, with preparation work beginning in the food court.
The expansion, which goes through the entire food court, will add 50 more shops or restaurants to the shopping centre as well as creating 500 extra jobs.
Harry Ramsden’s is the first restaurant to go in the food court having closed its doors for good last Wednesday, and it won’t be returning to the shopping centre even after the building work is completed.
A spokesman for the restaurant said: “Unfortunately, the closure will be permanent because we can’t move back to our current location as it is all being changed in the expansion.
“The only choice was to move else- where in the centre between two clothes shops but they wouldn’t have been happy because of the smell.”
Many of the other food chains in the food court are now preparing to close over the next few months.
At the end of the month, Subway will shut. It will be moving into a bigger unit, which used to be the former Crocs store, although an opening date has not yet been confirmed. On January 7, McDonald’s is closing its branch at the food court and, although it is not known when it will open, the fast food chain will be returning to the Outlet as a stand alone restaurant with about 200 seats.
Also closing on the same date is Lost Sheep Coffee, which will also be moving into its own unit sometime in the near future. Building work for the expansion is set to begin in November.
Meanwhile in Ashford town centre the Evans women’s clothes shop in the High Street will close its doors to customers for the final time on Saturday. Evans has been running a sale for the past few weeks, with some items marked at 70% off.
Now the shop, which is run by the Arcadia Group, will finally close on Saturday, and is set to become part of a wider complex run by businessman Julian Silver.
Arcadia will keep ownership of the listed property, and is still the owner of the former Merchant Chandler shop behind, but it brings to an end the retail group’s presence in the town centre, as Burton Menswear closed last year.
Mr Silver hopes to open a gourmet burger bar on the ground floor of the former Merchant Chandler, and will take on the Evans shop with the aim of creating a new front entrance.
He will need to apply for planning permission to make internal changes to the property, which is also home to a vape lounge, a cafe, and a community radio station.