Stroll the small high street in the upmarket enclave of St Margarets, in South West London, on any given weekend and there’s one thing that the early morning exercisers, parents with buggies and dog walkers have in common – they’re almost all carrying a takeaway coffee cup.
It’s no surprise, because packed into this tiny stretch of high street that’s close to leafy Richmond-upon-Thames are currently nine coffee shops in just 321 metres or 0.2miles.
Until last week, there was a whopping ten choices for flat whites, lattes and cappuccinos, but independent Cafe M.A.D. has just shut up shop – days after one of the UK’s biggest coffee shop Goliaths, Gail’s Bakery, opened up a few doors’ down.
The popular suburb for commuters heading into Waterloo, which is 35 minutes’ away by train, also has a coffee shop between platform one and two at St Margarets station – so technically still ten options if you’re bound for central London.
The new Gail’s – with its trademark red signage and delicious-looking bakes showcased in baskets behind the counter – has replaced a family-run local greengrocers and florist which had been on the high street for decades.
Of the remaining eight coffee shops in St Margarets, all are independently owned bar Harris+Hoole, which belongs to another coffee giant, Caffè Nero.
The opening of Gail’s puts five outposts of the fashionable cafe within a five-mile radius, with branches already open in Richmond, Twickenham, Teddington and Kingston.
One local resident, who wished to remain anonymous, told MailOnline: ‘It has become a bit silly, St Margarets used to have more variety – you could buy things you actually needed here. It has become a shrine to coffee shops in the last decade, a bit like everywhere I suppose.’
Jam-packed: The small high street in St Margarets, close to Richmond-upon-Thames, welcomed a Gail’s Bakery this month (pictured), meaning residents now have nine coffee shops in just 321 metres. A tenth independent coffee shop closed its doors this week
Between Fika cafe (left), at the top of St Margarets high street, and Grounded (right) at the bottom on nearby Crown Rd – just 321 metres away – there are seven more coffee shops
Another teenage resident, enjoying a matcha latte from Isaac’s Coffee, across the road from Gail’s, on Sunday morning, said they loved the choice of cafes and that the demand is clearly there, joking: ‘Posh people love coffee!’.
It’s not just the rich though; nearly two thirds of us drink coffee daily – the equivalent of 95 million cups in the UK – compared to 59 per cent who have tea.
On this particular high street, greedy landlords have been blamed for the closure of other kinds of shops, including the greengrocer and florist that once stood where Gail’s latest branch now is.
The fruit and veg store, where Angelina Jolie once bought flowers while staying in nearby Petersham with her then husband Brad Pitt, announced it was closing last May, with the owner revealing the reason behind its demise was eye-watering rent rises.
Its successor is now widely viewed to have replaced Waitrose as a signifier of gentrification and wealth.
Founded by its namesake Gail Mejia in the 1990s with businessman Ran Avidan, its first bakery opened on Hampstead High Street in north London.
The business was acquired by Bread Holdings in 2011, and it has since expanded to more than 130 bakeries across England, mostly in Greater London – with plans for 30 to 40 more cafes this year.
Gail’s Bakery on St Margarets has replaced a family-run greengrocer and florists that had been on the South West London high street for decades
In this commuter suburb, the coffee cup does truly floweth over, one of the nine cafes on the high street
Healthy competition: Zoran’s and relative newcomer Wylie’s Coffee sit side-by-side on Crown Road
Victims: Cafe M.A.D shut up shop this week, just weeks after Gail’s Bakery arrived on the High Street. Right, the family-run florists and greengrocers that Gail’s has replaced
The rapid expansion plans have seen a backlash amid concerns the rolling out could force independent cafes to shut.
In Walthamstow, east London, more than 400 people recently signed a petition against a new branch, in the name of ‘protecting the unique identity of our community and safeguarding the soul of a beloved neighbourhood’.
Addressing concerns about gentrification, Mejia told MailOnline’s Richard Eden last year: ‘This business of what happens to a neighbourhood if Gail’s opens? It is an insane argument… and I find it uniquely distasteful.’
The brand also found itself in hot water in the historic South Coast town of Lewes earlier this month, after it removed wooden doors from a listed building in the market town.
In the mid-way spot, opposite the St Margarets station, which is packed with commuters during rush hour sits Isaac’s Coffee
Another pairing: Vegan coffee shop Green Bottle sits next to the Grounded cafe
The company has opened an outpost in the former NatWest Bank in the East Sussex town.
It said the doors did not fit their modern shopfront requirements and replaced them with glass doors.
But residents in Lewes, a town with a history dating back to the 6th century, are furious. They have accused the bakery of ‘destroying’ their heritage and ‘ruining’ the character of the town centre.
One resident said: ‘It is outrageous what Gail’s Bakery has done. How dare they destroy the heritage of our proud town.
‘They have gone about this in a completely insensitive and ham-fisted fashion. They’ve ruined the character of the old bank which has been there since the 17th century.’
He added: ‘This is an ancient town which has a history stretching back more than 1000 years and we are proud of our heritage. This trendy bakery should have realised this.’
