Macknade in Ashford
Written by: Shane Godwin
It is with great sadness we have to share the news that Serviced Retail Ltd, trading as Macknade Ashford, ceased trading on the 17th October.
We have had to evaluate where the Ashford business is economically, and to face the reality of what we feel is ahead. Despite all the effort put in, we could not see a path that allowed us to continue to trade through the months ahead and so the most difficult decision had to be taken.
The loss of our team and the closure of such a vibrant space is devastating, but it was the only course of action open to limit impacts more broadly.
Macknade Ashford was always about placemaking and building community, so we opened with great confidence in February 2020, only to close six weeks later due to Covid.
Whilst we lost several years of building footfall, we felt we had done enough to carry through and capitalise on a return to normality as the pressures of Covid eased in early 2022. We anticipated the joyful return to eating out and further engagement in our retail offer, but sadly, that was not the case.
Unfortunately, the cost-of-living crisis and its impact on footfall & customer spend has been a crisis too many for our fledgling business. Whilst we pushed through 2022 as far as we could, it became clear that we didn’t have the required footfall & spend for the site, and would not be able to deliver the viable business we had planned so long for.
It is devastating to have fought so hard this past three years, only now to have to close, and worst of all, it is heart-breaking to lose our team who have put their heart and soul into the business. They are not only part of the Macknade family, but also integral to the Ashford community.
Thank you to everyone who has supported us in Ashford. We hope we had an impact on the town during the time we were here. Macknade Faversham continues to trade as normal, so we hope to see as many of you there as we can and would welcome the opportunity to discuss Ashford in person.