New Furniture Shop In High Street and Other Shop News

Published on: 2 Nov, 2019
Updated on: 3 Nov, 2019

By Hugh Coakley

Guildford’s High Street got a vote of confidence this week with a new furniture retailer moving into the award-winning building vacated by The Steamer Trading Company.

India Jane, the independent furniture store, is moving into Guildford High Street.

India Jane, the high-end furniture and interior design and home accessories shop, has six other stores in London, Bath and Marlow and will now open its latest branch next to the George Abbot statue at the top of the High Street.

The Guildford Dragon NEWS went into the new shop and spoke to staff who were busy putting the final touches to the displays. They were a little coy about giving an exact opening date, only preferring to say: “We’ll definitely be open next week.”

And as one shop opens, another closes. Kalm Kitchen, the independent café in Tunsgate, closed unexpectedly on Thursday. Staff were apparently told the day before.

Until recently, Tunsgate had been able to boast that there were no empty shops in the street – other than the empty facades on the Tunsgate Quarter side. That has now changed with the Shooting Star charity shop closing last month, and now Kalm Kitchen. As reported by The Dragon, those premises are to be taken over by Little Brownies who sell luxury chocolate brownies. No date for that opening yet but there have been shop fitters working there over the last few weeks.

Sign inside the empty shop in The Shambles for a new Sicilian cafe.

The Shambles, just off the High Street, may be getting a bit of a change with possibly two new cafés in the offing. The little known side street, just to one side of Gap, is home to the long established carpet and flooring specialist, E Owen and Son Ltd . Footfall, always an issue in The Shambles, crashed after WH Smith closed its side entrance into the cul-de-sac.

But a sign has now been spotted for a new Sicilian cuisine café inside No 1 and, further up, work is progressing on work to convert the existing building into flats and a café.

Again, no dates for openings but they will be welcome additions to the Guildford street scene.

A new Sicilian cafe possibly to open in The Shambles next to E Owen and Son, the flooring specialist. The building work past the carpet shop is for a new café and flats.