There are two open shops at Reynolds Way and five stand empty. The survivors are Reynolds Way Supermarket and the pharmacy. A fish and chip shop opened in June 2024 but I have not seen it open for some time.
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Back in 2022, I reported on the demolition of the wall along Reynolds Way, which featured a collection of public artworks. The wall formed the back of a row of garages owned by Sovereign Housing. When the garages were demolished, the space they occupied was left behind. It is now fenced off, with little use apart from a place for a clothing and shoe bank.

It does give the impression of a forgotten corner of Abingdon in need of some investment.

Starbucks arrived in Abingdon on 28 December 2021, bringing its familiar green mermaid to the Market Place. It joined a well-established coffee culture in the town centre.

At the time, there were two Costas, Java, R&R Coffee, Coffee Aroma and Throwing Buns, while The Missing Bean had opened just a few months earlier. There were also numerous other cafés, restaurants and food outlets serving coffee alongside their main offerings.

The Starbucks was unusual among the Market Place coffee shops, with very little outside seating. There were plenty of seats inside.

Almost five years later, the sign and mermaid have disappeared from the Market Place and the windows are blacked out.

Behind the shop, equipment, packaging, cups and other Starbucks-branded items were piled up in the service area, and cartons of white chocolate – caramalised – banana flavour sauce.

Coffee drinkers in Abingdon are still well catered for, but there is no Starbucks.

The shop fronts on Ock Street have been slowly disappearing. The latest to go is Cathy’s Sandwich Bar. This photo was taken in 2014, not long after it opened, replacing Mega Bonus who sold kitchen appliances.

Next door, Status Trophies closed in 2014 and was converted into residential accommodation. Now Cathy’s Sandwich Bar has followed the same way.

A planning application earlier this year changed the building from retail to residential, with no objections. The existing flat upstairs will be extended to include the downstairs area.