Category Archives: Business

Town Centre Shop Changes – 2013

Changes in 2013

Press on Changes in 2013 for a bigger pdf version. Not a brilliant map and not to scale but it serves this yearly purpose.

Key:
Green is a shop that was vacant at the start of the year which is now occupied.
Yellow means a change of ownership.
Red is a vacant shop premises that was occupied at the start of the year.

Change in 2007 ( 6 green, 5 yellow, 10 red ) – Net Loss 4
Change in 2008 ( 10 green, 8 yellow, 13 red ) – Net Loss 3
Change in 2009 ( 9 green, 6 yellow, 6 red ) – Net Gain 3
Change in 2010 ( 9 green, 6 yellow, 5 red ) – Net Gain 3
Change in 2011 ( 2 green, 8 yellow, 5 red ) – Net Loss 3
Change in 2012 ( 6 green, 1 yellow, 7 red ) – Net Loss 1
Change in 2013 ( 7 green, 8 yellow, 6 red ) – Net Gain 1

The Narrows (Wetherspoons) opened on the High Street in the Old Post Office. QC closed.

Art and Stuff is now where Skinny Hippo was. The Olives has replaced Kitsons.

New Look moved and took one of the new larger units down Bury Street. Costa expanded by knocking through into the empty Jessops premises. Hatton Goldsmiths downsized and took one of the Bury Street kiosks. Phone Box took the other kiosk.

Philosphy moved to the Market Place, and was replaced by Simon’s News who had vacated ER Goffs, now undergoing a refurbishment.

Salinas came back – more as a Coffee / Snack place than the restaurant it had been before.

Belinda’s Jewellery Box opened where there had not been shop recently on East St Helen Street. Sean Antony should follow soon.

On West St Helen Street it was goodbye to Faulkner Photography and Paul Viney Photography who continue to operate but without a town centre studio. Withy King (moved to Vineyard Chambers), Lansborough Estate (moved to Ock Street), and Natural Health (moved to Coxeter House). AAH Printer Solutions moved from Coxeter House. Chaba Thai moved in where The Thai Orchid used to be.

The Saturday before Christmas and a Harpist at Eileen


The Saturday before Christmas has come, and gone, and it was a rainy day.

Large puddles formed in a number of places on the town’s roads.

Unlike previous Saturdays, I did not see any fairs or markets. So it was a pleasure to look in at Eileen on bath Street, where Pervin, International Harpist, was playing Festive music for the customers. I gather she plays every year at Eileen in Sumertown, then Eileen in Abingdon, as a seasonal special.

There was also champagne and chocolates.

An Early Start on East St Helen’s Street


ER Goffs closed on Bridge Street at 5pm on Friday, and reopened as Simon’s News at 4am this Monday morning – at 2 East St Helen Street.

That is not as early as Pascal over the road who starts baking bread and patisseries at about 2am.

The top end of East St Helen’s Street now has a number of fairly new retail businesses – two are very early starters.