An oriental store in Reading is set to take over a former Polish store at a busy shopping centre.
The C Mart Oriental Store is preparing to take over a unit previously occupied by Delikatesy Smaczek, a traditional Polish and European supermarket on the outside of the Broad Street Mall.
C Mart will be undergoing its second relocation in two years.
The business had to relocate after its first store in Friar Street was badly affected by a fire in May 2023.
The fire led to the closure of C Mart, the Mystic Lounge and McDonald’s, which underwent a refurbishment.
Union Street, also known as ‘Smelly Alley’ was also closed for months, and only fully reopened in August 2023.
C Mart relocated a few doors down in the unit previously occupied by the Eye Site opticians in August last year.
At the time, Brian Xhao, the owner of the business, said it would be unlikely that the oriental store would ever reopen in its original location.
Although C Mart has been trading as usual since then, the business is now set to move into the unit on the outside of Broad Street Mall that was vacated by Delikatesy Smaczek last December.
C Mart has submitted an application to sell alcohol off the premises from the store between 9am and 11pm each day.
The application has been submitted to Reading Borough Council’s licensing department.
A statutory consultation is currently live, which you can respond to by emailing licensing.gov.uk.
The deadline for responses will be reached on Monday, April 28.
News of the C Mart relocation comes as the unit it currently occupies is scheduled for demolition to make way for a 163-bed Leonardo hotel.
This project also involves the demolition of the Revolucion de Cuba bar, after developers Thackeray Estates won approval for the hotel in December 2022.
Eye Site opticians relocated to Broad Street in May last year.
The unit C Mart will be taking over was vacated when Delikatesy Smaczek moved to larger premises outside Broad Street Mall last December.
Delikatesy Smaczek took over the Brother2Brother fashion store.
