New restaurants, expanding shops and new shops are among the big changes coming to Clarks Village. The discount outlet shopping centre contains more than 90 designer and high street brands, as well as a variety of food and drink options.
The retail haven in Street, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2023, led the way for shopping in the UK by introducing the outlet concept to the nation in 1993, sparking a wave of similar centres across the country. With shoppers continuing to flock through the village and undergo some retail therapy, Clarks Village bosses continue to introduce new shops and brands for customers to enjoy.
Speaking about the new restaurants and other openings, Chris Davis, Centre Director of Clarks Village, said: “After months of speculation, we can officially confirm Wagamama is coming to Clarks Village along with four other fantastic new openings. There’s already been a buzz of excitement from guests and we can’t wait to showcase these brands as they open their doors in the coming weeks alongside our established favourites.
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“While the British weather may be interchangeable, with five new brands and more on the way, we’re in for a very hot summer at Clarks Village.”
Here are the five big changes at Clarks Village.
Slim Chickens
A popular chicken chain is set to open its first restaurant in Somerset – with the first 30 customers to receive free chicken. Work is well underway for Slim Chickens to take over the former Gourmet Burger Kitchen branch in Clarks Village’s Restaurant Terrace.
The authentic American-style restaurant Slim specialises in cooked-to-order fresh, buttermilk tenders, Honey BBQ sandwiches and fresh Buffalo wings. It also stocks a range of 15 handmade dipping sauces as well as a variety of wraps, salads and sides, plus vegetarian plant-based options and milkshakes.
Due to open at 12pm on Friday, June 21, Slim Chickens will offer three free chicken tenders to the first 30 people in line with golden tickets given out in-store for a chance to win free prizes.
The restaurant will feature family seating, intimate tables, and booths and will be available for quick lunches, takeaway meals to leisurely family dinners. When open, this will be the first Slim Chickens restaurant to open in Somerset, with nearby branches in Bournemouth, Exeter and Swindon.
The Street restaurant is currently recruiting for both full-time and part-time staff, including front of house, kitchen team member, kitchen supervisor, kitchen manager and assistant manager. You can view the jobs here.
Wagamama
A new Wagamama at Clarks Village is set to open later this Summer. The pan-Asian restaurant chain will combine units 29 and 30, once occupied by Samsonite and Jaeger, into the new restaurant.
Work is well underway on the new restaurant in the heart of the factory outlet village in Street, with the restaurant set to open on July 22. The large restaurant will cater for 172 covers including 40 external covers.
The new Clarks Village restaurant will serve up classic guest favourites, amongst them the chicken katsu, ramens and iconic side dishes on their 50% plant-based menu. The restaurant will also feature Wagamama’s new summer menu including, saku saku soba, with a choice of crispy shredded duck or crispy pulled shiitake.
Guests can expect to see new unique drinks, from sangrias to shiso mojitos, including a ‘pad thai sour’ cocktail – inspired by the flavour of the Thai stir-fried favourite, pad Thai. Open seven days a week, the new restaurant will create 60 new jobs, and will be Wagamama’s 167th restaurant to open in the UK.
Sita Wood, Head of Regional Marketing at Wagamama said: “We are so excited to open the doors to our brand-new restaurant in Clarks Village. Our benches will soon be welcoming the local community and visitors of the outlet shopping destination, and we can’t wait to serve up some of our newest dishes and fresh favourites!
“Our fantastic new team have been working hard to ensure we’ll bring our much-loved Wagamama experience to our guests and they’re so excited to land in their beautiful new restaurant once work is complete.”
Murmur
Luxury homeware brand Murmur has opened a new pop-up store in the Homeware Pavilion at Clarks Village. Offering its carefully curated collection of nature-inspired homeware with soft natural tones, its range includes bedding, soft furnishings, gifting and home fragrance.
Rituals
Beauty and wellbeing brand Rituals opened a new store in Clarks Village on Thursday (May 23). A spokesman said: “The brand is dedicated to sustainable and personal wellbeing in the luxury beauty industry and aims to transform everyday routines into more meaningful moments”.
Rituals currently have two stores in Bristol – one at Cabots Circus and one at Cribbs Causeway – while there are other South West stores in Exeter and Plymouth, as well as in Swindon and Winchester.
The brand launched its first store outside of London back in 2017, at Birmingham’s Grand Central shopping centre. Last year, Rituals said they were opening 25 new stores next year as it expands across the UK and Ireland.
Annemarie Forsyth, Managing Director of Rituals Cosmetics (UK & Ireland), said: “We’re thrilled to be opening a brand-new store in Clarks Village, where we’ll be joining over 90 high street and designer retailers.
“Customers can explore our collections and fully immerse themselves into our brand and its offerings as soon as they step into our store. It’s a place to discover our collections, including a range of gift sets and uplifting wellbeing treats for bath, body, and home, all at fantastic outlet prices. We’re looking forward to welcoming customers to our new store and to providing an unforgettable shopping experience.”
Lindt
While this is not a new brand coming to Clarks Village, Lindt has moved into a new larger store. Now located next to Haribo within the Pear Court mall, the chocolatier has added an ice cream and hot chocolate bar serving the newly released Lindt Crema Gelta, a ribbon personalisation hub as well as incorporating its popular Lindt pick ‘n’ mix selection.
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