Winchester (463): Opening

Waitrose Winchester first opened its doors on 2nd October 2009, led by Branch Manager, Alison Pilling and her team of 150 Partners. Chancellor Dominic Hiscock, Mayor of Winchester, was also present to cut the ribbon.

The striking building is made from materials such as steel, wood and glass, creating a sense of sustainability. It was designed by the architects, Philip Tracey, behind Jubilee House at Waitrose Bracknell,  a similarly organic, natural glass and wood building.

There seemed to be a real demand for a Waitrose in Winchester as many customers flocked to the store to see its opening.  It was reported in the Partnership’s in-house magazine, The Gazette, at the time, to be “very very busy all day.”

However, just three days after opening, Winchester had to abruptly shut their doors again temporarily due to a major power cut. The extend of the damage was clear when much of their frozen and chilled stock had to be discarded due to the lack of refrigeration and failure of the back-up generator.

A call for help was received and answered by the three neighbouring Waitrose branches, whose partners began handing out gift vouchers. Miraculously, the team managed to get the store open again for 2:45pm that same day.

This sense and focus on the community is at the very heart of this store and this has been further aided by its central location within the city with close amenities such as the Medical Centre and the neighbouring Church.

Waitrose Winchester has a number of excellent in-store facilities such as: Click & Collect, flower wrapping and a dry cleaners. As well as the classic service counters including: meat, fish, cheese, delicatessen and sushi.

There is also customer parking available underground with a maximum stay of two hours.

Address: Stockbridge Rd, Weeke, Winchester SO22 6EL