New Chester Market

Well it’s finally here after a fair old wait. The new Chester Market is now with us on Northgate Street. I popped along yesterday for my first visit to check it out. First impressions as I stood in front of the “Coachworks Arcade” entrance was, “very impressive frontage.” Wandering through the arcade bit towards the entrance to the market was simply a thoroughfare to the market. No stores present. I’m guessing stores will soon be opening in this passageway?

Right by the entrance – just to the right – is a Zizzi Italian restaurant. Was it open I thought as it looked very quiet inside? It looked open. Upon entering the market it soon became apparent why Zizzi’s may have been quiet. Anyway, before I get to that.

New Chester Market

Upon entering the market the first stall, or store, that you see is a plant stall. I think it may have been the one that was in the old market right down the bottom. I must admit I like the merchandise they offer in there. However, I digress. The purpose of the visit really was to have a quick reccie to see what the new Chester market was all about. So, a sort of whistle stop tour.

Bear in mind though, I’m of an age where I can remember all the good points and all the good stalls of the old market, so a reccie in a sort of comparative way as well really. Ambling round it was very clear that it was very busy. Plenty of people milling about and eating. Make a note of that last mention.

In a nutshell, the quick reccie showed that I was ambling around an impressive enough, modern looking building. However, there was one big thing missing for me. And that was, well, market stalls actually. There were a few. I remember seeing the plant shop, a florist, an ice cream stall, a phone repair one, a ladies clothes shop, a craft type stall, a pet stall and maybe one or two more that I can’t quite remember. Oh, and there was one butcher and a fishmonger.

Not much variety at all really. What’s happened to the wider range of stalls that were available in the old market? No cheese stall, one butcher, no fancy dress shop, no Bookingham Palace, no guitar shop, no fruit and veg, no computer repair shop either. That’s just to name a few different type of stalls we used to see in the old market.

New Chester Market Or A New Food Hall?

As I touched on above, it was very busy. But it was very busy with people eating. In fact some of the food stalls closed early because they were out of stock. So fair do’s, the boxes have been ticked for the food stalls. So far that is. Was it so busy because of the newness of it all? A bit of a novelty sort of thing.

And when the novelty wears off? So, first impressions, have we got a new Chester market, or have we got a new Chester Food Hall with a few side attractions stalls and shops thrown in? Hopefully over time we will see more stalls. If we don’t, what sort of attraction would it be to say, out of towners? Or even locals? Great for having a bite to eat maybe, but as a shopping experience?

Also, as I mentioned above, I’m old enough to remember the old market and the many, many stalls and shops over the years. I did write a sort of “thanks for the memories” article about the old market a few weeks ago. You can see it HERE.

A big burning question that springs to mind for me is, have we got something that is far better than what we already had? How much has the development cost? Did I hear somewhere in the region of £76m?

I get the point that it may not yet be the finished article and other stalls will be on the way. So, maybe a review in, say, 12 months time could be more accurate. However, there has been much mention of it’s opening as it is in its current format. This post is therefore, my very own first impressions.

New Chester Market – In Summary

In summary, does it look a modern, attractive building? Yes, it does. If you wanted a good variety of food options for a bite out, are there enough options? Most definitely. Does it satisfy what I thought markets were all about and that is tick the boxes for a satisfying and enjoyable shopping experience? In my opinion, most definitely not. Will it though in time? Let’s hope so hey.

Seeing so many food stalls though may have explained why Zizzi’s was so quiet. An own goal by Zizzi’s? Maybe so, only time will tell.

One other thing I noticed was that the Christmas Market stalls were being put into place at the Town Hall. In case you didn’t know, the Christmas Markets open on Friday (18th November) and will be with us until 21st December. I can feel another blog post coming on!!

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