Islington News: Chapel Market | Waitrose

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Islington Tribune - by PETER GRUNER
Published: 27 June 2008

From left: Shoppers Kim Boezalt, her mother Grace and Eileen Whitnan

Upmarket move as Waitrose ousts Woolies

THAT bastion of working-class Islington, Chapel Market, is going upmarket with a new Waitrose store.
The store will replace Woolworths and not everyone is happy about it. Shopper Kim Boezalt said the decision to close “Woolies” was bad for shoppers – and not everyone could afford Waitrose prices. “Woolworths has always been brilliant for things like baby care items and homeware,” she said.
But others were pleased. “Waitrose will really improve the area,” said one. “We’ve got Marks and Spencer and a Waitrose supermarket will really be upmarket.”
Bridget Fox, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Islington South and Finsbury, said many Islington families would miss Woolworths. Writing in an online blog, she said: “Not everyone in Islington falls into the Waitrose demographic. Woolworths is always heaving because it provides a lot of goods that Islington families appreciate.”
But Peter Adamides, chairman of the Chapel Market Stallholders Association thought the change would benefit many traders. “I don’t like to see anything close and I hope everyone will be relocated but this is welcome for stall holders. Woolworths often sold the same items as the market although never as cheaply.”
A closing date for the store is not yet known but is expected to be before the end of the year.

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