A dream ‘crushed’ says restaurateur Cham Shah

INDEPENDENT businesses and their customers at Queensway Market, Bayswater, have been left upset and confused at the landlord’s decision to sell up to American grocery chain Whole Foods.

Half of the market – a multicultural hub of restaurants, boutiques, salons and repair shops – is due to close next week, while the other half has had its notice extended to the end of May, making business owners feel lost as to when to move and how to prepare for their closing.

A protest petition set up online after landlord Bourne Capital handed notice-to-quit letters to all businesses in March has 1,800 signatures.

Critics say the closing marks the end of the last working-class space in the area and that it is the latest example of “small” businesses being replaced by big businesses; like Whole Foods, which is owned by Amazon.

Vito di Bari, who has run a clothes shop for LGBT customers for six years in the market, told Extra: “It’s really affected me as I’ve invested all my money into this business and sadly we’re now leaving.

“My shop is the only LGBT shop in the market and being here, I’d… made this place more accepting and welcoming of my community. The majority of my customers are trans women or drag queens looking for outfits.

“So I make and sell wigs for them but also for people with cancer who have lost their hair.

Sad to be going: Vito di Bari with friend Stephanie

“I had many clients here, I’m gay and most of my customers are also gay. So I don’t know what I’ll do after I shut. I might become a street vendor and put myself in a park and sell stuff there. I came here from Italy because I believed that opening a business was easier here than it is back home. I have to put everything into storage.”

He added: “I’m so small compared to Amazon so what can I do? If I could say onething to Amazon or Whole Foods it’s this, I wish you well and I hope that you can give me a job at your company.”

Di Bari’s client and friend Stephanie said: “I see that his shop gets a lot of customers and I’m really upset for him, he’s made a lot of friends through this.

Cham Shah, who has run a Malaysian street food business in the market for three years, said: “It was my dream to open this business and now it’s been crushed by one letter.

“We had a meeting with people who work for the landlord but not much happened. It’s so short notice, so I still haven’t been able to find a new place to go. I’m feeling very stressed; I was moving house and then got the letter about the market closing, it was very bad timing. The council still hasn’t contacted me and I feel let down.

“The petition is the only thing we feel we can do, I don’t have the power to do anything and I don’t know who to rely on, I’m just a small person.

Ahmed Shalan, left, talks to his customer Chris

“I was working for another company for 12 years and then decided to open this business to see how it goes and see if it was a good move for me as someone who previously worked as a chef.”

One of Cham’s customers told Extra the stall was the only place to get traditional Malaysian food in the area following other closures.

Ahmed Shalan, who runs a repair shop, said: “I don’t know what to do. There also is a mosque within this market that people go to, so they would be losing their community.”

One of his regulars, Chris, said he had been using the market to get his phones and computers fixed, and added: “When I first came here I thought the place looked a bit like the market in Blade Runner. It kind of looks like a cowboy town.”

Whole Foods has already opened in six locations around London and five of the locations are replacing old Amazon Fresh stores that closed last year. A spokesperson for Bourne Capital said: “Our proposals to redevelop Queensway Market and the wider Queens Court building, including the conversion of the market to alternative uses, were first consulted upon in 2017, with planning permission sec-ured in 2022.

Petition supports ‘the preservation of our unique and cherished Queensway Market’ and call for a stand against ‘the corporatisation’ of community spaces

“The scheme will deliver a vibrant retail and leisure destination, comprising over 30,000 sq ft of new space, alongside significant public realm enhancements and the delivery of much-needed housing.

“Extensive public consultation has been undertaken and there has been strong local support for proposals that will enhance local amenity and contribute to the wider revitalisation of the high street.

“Tenants within the market have been aware of these proposals for many years and of the anticipated market closure in 2026 and therefore the redevelopment is not a surprise or unexpected. We are working closely with existing market tenants to support both temporary and, where possible, long-term relocation options.

“We understand the closure of the market will impact tenants’ business and, in consideration of this and to support tenants through this transition, we have offered an additional six months of term within the wider market.

“The vast majority of the tenants have opted to stay within the market for a further six months.”