Lidl customers in Camden will bid farewell to its last branch in the area today despite calls to save it.
The low-cost retailer has been a staple shop in the local community for almost 10 years, attracting loyal locals and those passing through the area.
It comes just two years after the main Camden High Street branch closed in April 2022 and means that the London Borough will now be left without a Lidl store.
Shoppers seeking an alternative branch will have to make the Tottenham Court Road Lidl (W1T 7NE) their new local.
Staff confirmed last month that the shop’s tills would fall silent due to its customer base not being large enough to make enough profit as reported by the Camden New Journal.
Caroline Hill, who chairs the civic group Kentish Town Road Action, said: “It is very sad. It is always rammed. Everyone shops there – it is a classless shop.
“Kentish Town Road is a big arterial through route so it does need double yellow lines and we can understand Lidl’s problems but it is a great pity. It may affect the footfall for other shops. We hope another store comes in quickly to take up the empty unit.”
Residents have also been vocal on the news of the closure with many having expressed their sadness on X, formerly Twitter.
It comes after a petition was started on January 10, 2024, which has since garnered 2,012 signatures in a bid to save the Lidl store.
One X user wrote: “I need my festive Gluhwein and gingerbread – also the most affordable supermarket in Kentish Town. Be a shame to lose it.”
Another posted: “Lidl has decided to say goodbye to Kentish Town Road. It was the original site in the 80s for Sainsbury’s before they moved to Camden then morphed into Kwik Save, Somerfield and Lidl. Wonder what will happen to the building. Sadly Kentish Tn has been gentrified.”
It won’t be the last of the supermarket’s stores to close this year either.
A second branch will follow suit this month on February 29 in Thornaby, Stockton-on-Tees.
It’s not all bad news though as the retailer has also shared plans to open 1,100 stores by the end of next year.
