Waitrose has signed a deal for a new convenience store in Chalk Farm, bringing the upmarket grocer to the Camden Town area for the first time.
The supermarket chain has exchanged on a site in the neighbourhood, with the new shop due to open in 2028. It will be a convenience-format store — typically around 4,000 to 5,000 sq ft — rather than a full-sized supermarket.
A Waitrose spokesperson said: “We’re pleased to have recently exchanged on a new site in Chalk Farm. We look forward to bringing the very best products and award-winning customer service to the community and will share more details as the development progresses.”
The exact address of the new shop has not yet been shared, and no opening date beyond 2028 has been given. More details are expected as the development progresses.
A first for the Camden Town area
North London already has Waitrose stores on Finchley Road and in West Hampstead, but the Chalk Farm shop will be the chain’s first in the Camden Town area.
That puts it within easy reach of Chalk Farm station on the Northern line, a stop south of Camden Town itself and on the doorstep of Primrose Hill. For shoppers in the neighbourhood, it means a Waitrose within walking distance rather than a trip to Finchley Road or West Hampstead.
The convenience format is aimed at top-up shopping and everyday essentials rather than the weekly big shop. At 4,000 to 5,000 sq ft, it will be roughly a quarter of the size of the full supermarket Waitrose opened in Cricklewood on the same day the Chalk Farm deal was announced.
Same day as the Cricklewood opening
The Chalk Farm announcement came on the day Waitrose opened its first new supermarket in eight years, an 18,000 sq ft store on Cricklewood Broadway. That shop stocks the full range, including a meat, fish and sushi counter, a large bakery section and a car park for customers doing a full shop.
Read more about that opening here: Cricklewood’s Waitrose finally has an opening date — here’s when the new supermarket opens.
Both openings form part of a £1 billion nationwide investment plan to open new sites and upgrade existing stores. Waitrose has said it is actively seeking new leasehold and freehold opportunities across thriving communities, including new builds, conversions, retail parks and mixed-use schemes.
What it means for Chalk Farm
Chalk Farm Road and the streets around the station already have a mix of independent shops, cafes and bars, and the arrival of a national grocer will add a new anchor for everyday shopping in the area. The shop’s convenience size suggests it is pitched at residents and commuters passing through the station rather than drivers doing a weekly shop.
For now, shoppers will have to wait: with an opening pencilled in for 2028, there is still work to do before the doors open. Waitrose has promised further details as the development moves forward, including, in time, the precise site.
Elsewhere in north London, Camden’s high streets continue to change — from the Amy Winehouse merch takeover marking 20 years of Back to Black in Camden to McGlynn’s in King’s Cross getting a new look.
What we know — and what we don’t
What is confirmed is the deal itself: Waitrose has exchanged on a Chalk Farm site, the shop will be a convenience store of around 4,000 to 5,000 sq ft, and it is due to open in 2028. What is not yet public is the precise address, the number of jobs the shop will create, or whether any planning permission is still needed before building work can begin.
That is normal at this stage of a retail deal. Exchanging on a site comes first; the detailed announcements — the address, the opening date, the recruitment — tend to follow as the development progresses, which is exactly what Waitrose has promised to share in due course.
For Chalk Farm residents, the practical point is simple: a new everyday food shop is coming to the neighbourhood, but it is still more than a year away. Until then, the nearest Waitrose shops remain those on Finchley Road and in West Hampstead.
We will update this story when Waitrose confirms the exact Chalk Farm site and an opening date.
