Harrogate MP urges M&S to reconsider café closureM&S to close Oatlands café in HarrogateM&S to give ‘golden tickets’ to first 200 people at Oatlands foodhall tomorrow

Marks & Spencer is to award ‘golden tickets’ to the first 200 customers at its Harrogate Oatlands foodhall tomorrow to mark the store’s official re-opening.

The foodhall on Leeds Road has undergone a major refurbishment and extension. It is now 60% bigger, and includes a bakery and wine shop — but the customer cafe is much smaller.

Although it is currently trading, tomorrow’s official reopening will see Percy Pig award golden tickets to the first shoppers at 9am. Each ticket guarantees a prize ranging from a free bag of sweets or cookies to a £200 voucher.

Store manager David Anderson said:

“We can’t wait until Tuesday morning when we can welcome customers through our doors.

“It’s been a busy few weeks behind the scenes working hard to put things together and we’re excited for everyone to see what the new store has to offer. Whether you’re looking for a quick lunch on the go or doing your big weekly shop – we’ve got you covered.”

The store, which employs 125 staff on Oatlands Retail Park, is open Monday to Saturday from 8am to 9pm and on Sunday from 10.30am to 4.30pm.

Read more:

M&S gives sneak peek of expanded Harrogate Oatlands store

Marks & Spencer has given a sneak peek of how its Oatlands Foodhall on Leeds Road in Harrogate will look if plans to extend it are approved,

The company wants to increase the size of the food hall by more than 70% and extend into the Sofa.com retail unit next to the existing store.

The plans would also see the closure of the cafe, which prompted some disappointed regulars to consider setting up a petition to retain it. 

M&S said the expansion was designed to deliver a “bigger, better and fresher experience” for shoppers and would involve a significant investment in the town.

Harrogate stores’ transformation one of the first in the country

The Leeds Road store will be one of the first in the country to be refreshed with this new-look M&S design. The features would include new fresh product displays and an in-store bakery.

The bakery would be open all day.

Work would take place in stages to allow customers to continue shopping at the store throughout redevelopment.

There would also be an expanded frozen food section, a wine shop and new decoration throughout the store.

A wine shop would be included in the store.

M&S has committed to cutting 1,000 tones of plastic from its business by March next year and halving food waste by 2030. With this in mind, the store would have a ‘fill your own’ section to reduce packaging.

Shoppers would bring their own reusable containers to fill with dried items, such as pasta, rice, cereals, nuts and other snacks.

The fill your own section would reduce plastic packaging and food waste.

There will be more checkouts, a mobile scan and shop option and new digital screens in store to make it quicker to process click and collect online orders.

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The Harrogate history of M&S

M&S first opened in Harrogate in December 1906 in the old Market Hall under its earlier name of Penny Bazaar.

The original Harrogate Penny Bazaar was replaced in May 1934 by a new Marks & Spencer store at 36 Cambridge Street.

It moved again in 1999 to its current location on Cambridge Street.

M&S regional manager Rona Hulbert said:

“We’re delighted to be celebrating our 115th anniversary in Harrogate this month. M&S has a long and proud history of serving local customers, dating all the way back to the days of the Penny Bazaars. I’m really excited that we’re looking forward to the future and continuing to invest in Harrogate.”