Hot stuff: customers of Croydon’s newest fried chicken outlet have to sign a ‘waiver’ if they order the hottest spice for their food
Our retailing correspondent, MT WALLETTE, on a Christmas rush with a difference – of businesses opening new premises in central Croydon
Six high street businesses are locating, or re-locating, on North End, George Street and Croydon High Street, just in time for Christmas, bringing a chimera of hope for the local retail and hospitality sectors, with the Whitgift Foundation, the borough’s biggest landlords, enjoying rare success with some of its long-vacant commercial properties.
Most glaringly obvious – have you seen their new shop front? – is Dave’s Hot Chicken, which was set to open today at 7-11 High Street (not a Whitgift property), where until recently there was the Five Guys burger restaurant.
“This launch isn’t just an expansion, it’s us bringing big flavour to one of London’s most iconic communities,” according to the managing director of Dave’s Hot Chicken in Britain, Jim Attwood, who claimed that Croydon is “known for its fried chicken shops”. It was said as if that’s an altogether good thing…
Expect scenes: police had to be called in for crowd control when the fried chicken shop offered product giveaways at their outlets on Shaftesbury Avenue and Westfield White City recently.
Croydon is the sixth Dave’s Hot Chicken to open in this country. Their Deep South-influenced food offers seven levels of heat, from no spice to “Reaper”, which is so damn hot, it requires customers sign a waiver when ordering (which probably has no legal status whatsoever, but is the work of a marketing genius).
And one customer, whether ordering Reaper heat or not, could win free chicken for a year if they get picked after filming themselves in store and sharing it on social media.
Just up the road, Westfield is finally about to open the sixth of its promised seven kiosks where the Allders department store used to trade.
Westfield, the nemesis of Croydon’s once thriving town centre, having inflicted development blight on the borough since 2012, have used money that they were fined for non-delivery of a £1billion regeneration scheme in order to provide a modest sop for Mayor Jason Perry to boast about.
Late again: Westfield were late to open the first of the Allders kiosks, and the sixth one is only just about ready
In typical Westfield style, the opening this weekend of Meltin’ Memories is late – coming about three months after they had Perry cutting the ribbon and claiming his bag of freebies from the first of their kiosks.
Meltin’ Memories is “a modern dessert shop specialising in indulgent treats made to satisfy every sweet craving”.
Mayor Perry should be in his element, then.
But the delayed opening in deepest, darkest December might not be the ideal time for a business selling ice creams and gelato.
Probably the organisation which has suffered most as a consequence of Westfield’s indecision and inaction has been the Whitgift Foundation.
The Foundation is a multi-million-pound property business that operates with charitable status, running two large private schools as well as a care home and the Almshouses at the junction of George Street and the High Street.
The Foundation, named after its founder, Queen Elizabeth I’s favourite Archbishop of Canterbury, has been a significant presence in Croydon for more than 400 years.
But as the leaseholders of the Whitgift Centre, they have seen their rental income plummet as there has been an exodus of tenants, first from their office block, and most recently in accelerating manner from the shopping mall. The number of empty retail units in the Whitgift Centre has increased by more than 50% in the past year.
The Whitgift Foundation used to have three private schools, but Old Palace girls’ closed this year, a victim of the Foundation’s diminished revenues after a decade of Westfield delays. According to the Foundation’s own figures, its unrestricted funds plunged from £252.2million in 2017 to £196.8million in 2023, largely a consequence of lost income from the increasingly vacant shopping mall.
So the opening of a new branch of health store Holland and Barrett on a prominent position at the main entrance to the Whitgift Centre from North End is a matter of some satisfaction for the Foundation.
36 North End, which when Croydon was thriving was the home of a Burton’s tailors shop, had been empty for almost a year, since the previous temporary letting ended in January.
Holland and Barrett taking this tenancy on has had consequences: they have closed their shop inside the Whitgift Centre, adding further to its sense of emptiness, while also shutting down their branch on North End.
Bigger premises: the health food and herbal remedies chain has closed its two other branches in central Croydon
By consolidating their sites, Holland and Barrett have gone from 5,444sqft of town centre retail space to more than 8,000sqft in the new store.
This expansion “provides easier customer shopping” and will allow Holland and Barrett “to expand their services beyond their traditional retail into their Health Hub to provide a fully-rounded service”, according to a spokesperson for the Foundation.
The three other Foundation properties where new tenants are moving in are:
- 32 North End, which has been vacant since the start of this year. This is to be a dentists: the Tooth Club;
- 36 George Street has been vacant since the summer. This will trade as Shah’s Halal Foodstalls; and
- 62 George Street, which has been enpty for almost three years, and needed to be occupied by property guardians to prevent squatters. This is to be used by another charity, called Soul Purpose.
“While we are keen that our properties are all occupied, it isn’t uncommon for commercial units to remain vacant once a lease comes to an end, as there is a period of marketing, physical works and the agreement of terms with an ingoing tenant,” the Foundation spox told Inside Croydon today.
The Foundation says that in this financial year, they are giving away £5million-worth of bursaries for pupils attending their schools. One-third of that money is “funded by income from the Foundation’s property and land”, the spokesperson said.
The Foundation says that 318 pupils among the 2,500 studying at Whitgift and Trinity schools – 12% – are receiving fee assistance in the form of bursaries in this academic year, while 59 girls who were at Old Palace are receiving help to continue their schooling elsewhere.
Fees for day boys at Whitgift School this year are £30,000 (and almost £60,000 for boarders). At Trinity, fees for the academic year are close to £27,000.
Read more: Croydon transformed! Westfield open two kiosks in Allders
Read more: Another Whitgift store to close – and manager blames Westfield
Read more: Hammer blow for Whitgift Centre with new delay to masterplan
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