New Marks & Spencer opens in South London with 150 people queuing to be the first in

A crowd of over 150 people gathered outside a new Marks & Spencer food hall in Sidcup for its opening ceremony this morning. There were cheers as store manager Karen Black cut the ribbon at 9am and declared the 7,200 sq ft store on Station Road officially open.

The foodhall is laid out market-style and offers customers aisles full of M&S Food's own prized home brands. An in-store bakery serves pastries, bread and takeaway coffee, as well as fresh produce sourced from select farms, alongside a wine shop and dine-in options. Summer treats include New York-inspired dips, cooked tapas, strawberries and designer pizzas.

The team has been counting down the days to opening, and this morning, over 150 local customers started queuing ahead of the opening to get the first look inside the store. As a special treat, DJ Brookie performed live music for shoppers and the Mayor of Sidcup, Cllr Sue Gower, also came along to congratulate staff on the store opening.

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Store manager Karen Black, who has worked at M&S for 20 years, said: “We couldn’t be more excited to officially open our brand-new Sidcup Foodhall today! I’d like to thank the entire team for all their hard work to get everything ready for our customers and I can’t wait for our customers to explore all the new features that the store has to offer.

"The store is an exciting investment in the future of M&S in Sidcup and it’s brilliant to be joining the local community. With an amazing new, fresh market-style foodhall, the perfect place to shop for your M&S favourites, we really do have the best of M&S here for everyone to enjoy!

"The atmosphere in the store has been electric today and we have loved welcoming new and familiar faces through the doors. We really do encourage local shoppers to come down and try the store out for themselves – they won’t be disappointed!”

More than 50 local people have been recruited to join the M&S Sidcup team, including Tom Copsey from Wilmington, whose stage name is Alexander Lockheart - a professional wrestler in his spare time. He says the flexibility offered by M&S is allowing him to continue with his career in the sport.

M&S Sidcup is one of nine new foodhalls M&S plan to open this financial year and is part of the retailer’s £30m investment in its stores across the capital. The store is located at 124 Station Road, Sidcup, with opening times on Monday to Saturday from 7am to 9pm and Sunday from 10am to 4pm.

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