Brockley Sainsbury's is open

The Sainsbury's Local on Mantle Road opened today. Comments and reviews please!

Cash rich, thyme poor

Brockley's got another free cash machine, outside the new Sainsbury's Local, which opens later this month.

This brings the total near the station to five, plus one in Crofton Park, one in Ladywell and another on Lewisham Way. That's nearly one for every actual shop in the area and compares with none near the station and one in the whole of greater Brockley only six years ago, a situation BC used to grumble about to the cash machine gods.

Still relatively few places to buy good fresh produce, but hopefully the new Sainsbury's will help on that score too. With thanks to Scott for the heads-up. Usual full disclosure: Sainsbury's is a client of my employer, Edelman.

Brockley Sainsbury's opens July 15th

Sainsbury's is opening its delayed Local branch on July 15th, according to this ad spotted by BCer Michael. 

It's evidently hoping to crack the Brockley market by selling a wide range of fresh fruit and vegetables (the Broca has an interesting but sporadic range, Nisa has a narrow range and Costcutter's quality is patchy).

It's a bold gambit that might just work.

Brockley Sainsbury's - work begins

Sainsbury's will occupy the unit being refurbished (right)

The Nisa next to the Broca Food Market on Mantle Road has closed.

Work has begun on the new Sainsbury's Local that will replace it. The new store will be larger than its predecessor and is due to open within weeks.

Deptford and the Waitrose effect

Deptford's been given the Standard's Homes & Property treatment this evening, albeit with the focus on New Capital Quay, which lies on the Greenwich side of the water.

The imminent arrival of Waitrose (admittedly a rare thing in South East London) has forced the paper urgently to reappraise its view of the area, which we've been saying for a long time is already one of the best things about this part of the city. Suggesting that Waitrose confers "retail respectability" on a place that boasts a great market and dozens of interesting independent shops and businesses is pretty irritating, but it's nice to see namechecks for the Deptford X, Bearspace Gallery, the Albany Theatre and the Deptford Dame, among others.

With Workspace and Cathedral Group planning major redevelopments of Deptford's core and further improvements to the high street due soon, expect many more of these sorts of articles to follow.