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Back in 2020, after 55 years in business, the beloved Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre (Europe’s first ever large indoor retail centre) closed its doors. A year later, it was knocked down to make room for a whole new £500 million ‘town centre’.
That shiny new town centre will open later this year and will be known as The Elephant. This week, its first wave of stores were revealed.
A big M&S with a market-style food store is the centre’s headline shop. There, you’ll find fresh produce, everyday essentials and on-the-go meals for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Blank Street Coffee will open a branch at The Elephant in the summer ahead of the main opening, offering its viral blueberry matcha alongside other creations like banana bread matcha and cherry glaze matcha. Thirsty visitors will also be able to pick up protein smoothies and açaí bowls from health-focused cafe Jungle Berry.
Local Latin supermarket DistriAndina, which currently lives under the nearby railway arches, will be moving in too. For entertainment, there’ll be a new five-screen cinema showing mainstream, classic and independent films. Overall, the centre is expected to have around 50 shops, restaurants and bars. Get Living, the developer behind the project, is also reportedly in discussion with Corsica Studios about the potential future of the venue, which shut on March 29.
The shopping centre is part of the enormous £4bn transformation of Elephant and Castle. As well as all that retail space, the development will have 485 new rental homes (including 172 affordable homes) 55,000 sq ft of workspace and a new campus for the University of the Arts London, which will open to students and staff next year.
Aidan Malia, senior director of The Elephant, said: ‘The Elephant’s debut line-up of retailers marks a major milestone for Elephant and Castle.
‘As we set a new benchmark for town centre regeneration, our ambition is to shape a destination where global brands sit alongside evolving and independent retailers, offering something for everyone, serving Elephant and Castle’s beautifully multicultural local community while presenting an experimental mix that drives new visitors to the area. We’re proud of the progress we’ve made so far and there is much more to come, so watch this space.’
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