The husband-and-wife team behind a beloved tearoom say they are “disappointed” to be leaving a soon-to-be-demolished shopping centre 10 years after moving in.
The Little Teapot, in Ashford’s Park Mall, will be closing this Saturday – exactly a decade after it opened in the town.
It comes as the shopping complex is due to be demolished by owners Ashford Borough Council (ABC) next year, after which the land will be used as an interim car park.
But rather than waiting closer to the demolition date, Russell and Jacqui Geen have decided to exit the mall this weekend.
In their announcement, they revealed they will be relocating the cafe, just around the corner in Bank Street, in the now-closed The Little Sweet Shop – a separate business they previously owned.
The sweet shop later moved to Folkestone.
Russell, 53, explained: “We’re going to move into the shop in Bank Street after we finish getting it fitted out and we should be open on Wednesday.
“It’s still disappointing it’s come to this.
“Tomorrow (Friday) is our 10th anniversary in Park Mall and then we’re finished at the end of Saturday.
“We weren’t under any pressure to do it now, so we’ve taken our time getting it ready.
“It’s smaller but more cosy.
“The Little Teapot has quite large loyal customer base so people will hopefully follow us down there.
“The menu and team will pretty much remain the same and we’ve done outside catering for several years anyway and that won’t change either.”
The Charing pair say a lack of footfall at Park Mall is the reason behind their decision to move now, rather than in January ahead of the centre’s demolition.
Russell added: “We wouldn’t have moved if Park Mall was staying.
“But the reason we haven’t waited longer to go is because time is progressing and the footfall in Park Mall is getting worse now, which doesn’t make it economically viable to stay.
“I’ve been very reluctant to take on a new unit when I’ve got the old one I can use – albeit smaller and without a fit-out of up to £90,000.
“So we’ll move into the smaller shop and see how it goes.
“After that though, we may look for a bigger shop in Ashford and see if any support comes our way.
“We’ve only been in Folkestone a few months and they’re investing heavily into the town centre, so it’s only our loyal customers which have kept us here.
“With the way things are going in Ashford, it makes you wonder what is going to happen in the next 12-18 months in the town centre.”
Speaking after the announcement, customer Gay Bishop said: “Prepare yourself Russell – you can’t escape us. Looking forward to seeing the new venue. Thanks for trying to keep Ashford town going.”
Mary Lenthall added: “You have always made us welcome. We will definitely be regular visitors.”
ABC revealed earlier this year the Park Mall site and next door car park will be torn down to make way for an interim surface-level car park, while plans to build flats on the land remain in the pipeline.
The authority, run by an Ashford Independents/Green Party coalition, has long held ambitions to flatten Park Mall, blaming a declining retail sector, the loss of anchor tenants such as Wilko and escalating maintenance costs.
It initially told tenants they needed to be out by the end of August, but extended that until January 9 following huge backlash.
The centre, currently home to about 20 businesses, will see demolition get underway in early 2026.
Poundstretcher is also leaving Park Mall, with its last day on August 23, and TAT 2 LTD is relocating to North Street later this year.
ABC recently acquired the freehold for Park Mall, but has owned the leasehold since 2015.
