A beauty salon has opened in its new location on West St Helen Street, marking a fresh start for the new year, having been for many years in Stert Street. They also have a salon in Boars Hill.

The salon now occupies a Grade II listed building that once served as a mortgage advisor’s office. The relocation was delayed by the need to get planning approval for the change of use and to carry out necessary alterations, such as installing stud walls to create treatment rooms. You can find more about them at utopiabeautique.com

Key Changes in 2024

This annual roundup provides a snapshot of Abingdon’s changing town centre shop fronts. The map highlights key changes using colour codes:
Green: Vacant at the start of the year, now occupied.
Yellow: Business or name change.
Red: Occupied at the start of the year, now vacant.
Green:/Red: Opened and closed within 2024 (closure could be temporary).

Changes from 2007 to 2024
(Press on the year in the table below to see the larger picture for any year.)

Welcome to New Businesses

* Abingdon Riverside Cafe
* Abingdon Supermarket

* iTech

* Love Desserts

* Ma Cherie
* Oishi Sushi
* Rotchana Massage and Spa

Also welcome to Abbey Fresh Food who closed for an unknown reason. A notice suggests they could reopen.
Another shop on the High Street selling confectionary and vapes opened but now appears empty.

Goodbye to Businesses we Lost

Two long established High Street banks, Barclays and Lloyds, have closed their branches and now have satellite services elsewhere in Abingdon.

The others lost businesses are:
* Annies at the Boathouse
* BeClean cleaning supplies
* Belinda’s Jewellery Box
* FM Hair (female side; male side is still open)
* Tasty House
* Vodafone

Change to Existing Businesses

Avicenna became Sherwood Pharmacy
Your Burger became Santinas Grill

Businesses undergoing change

The Lounge Cafe has closed temporarily for a change of owner and revamp. It will reopen in February and be run by the same family who run Clockwork Dragon. They already used the Lounge Cafe to run some of their games events.

Pappy’s Back A Yard is currently closed because they are under an unstable building.

(let me know of any mistakes in this annual roundup)

The Avicenna Pharmacy in Abingdon has been taken over, and is now run by the new owner. He got a mention in parliament this week after Layla Moran MP visited. Layla Moran is Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, and on 18th December 2024 she said in parliament when debating winter preparedness, ‘Last Friday, I visited Sherwood Pharmacy in Abingdon. Ben, who owns it, told me that local pharmacies stand ready to help… There needs to be a real push for GPs to refer people to pharmacies, in particular for vaccinations.’

Abingdon Town Band was playing carols outside Waitrose last night. The Town Band has been out and about far more in recent months.

This morning, donkeys from the Donkey Sanctuary were outside Waitrose. They are regular visitors to Abingdon and can often be seen at the Christmas Extravaganza. They also sometimes help out during Palm Sunday. But it’s not just Abingdon — they were in Didcot on Saturday.

The Waitrose store appears to have moved past the Christmas Tree stage and will soon transition into the Turkey collection stage.

The removal of Waitrose Unwrapped, their unpackaged section, and its replacement with the Christmas Shop, a highly packaged section, was another recent change.