The news comes just nine months after the 175-year-old company opened its first West Kent store last September.
Macknade began as a farm in Faversham in 1847, but the business, which also has roots in Italy, exited farming completely in 2001, in order to focus on retail, and in 2011 opened the first Macknade café. It has flagship stores in both Faversham and Ashford.
However a Macknade spokesperson told the Times yesterday (May 31) that it will not be abandoning Tunbridge Wells or the West Kent region completely.
The company’s Managing Director Shane Godwin told the Times: “We have certainly not departed the West Kent area for good. We are looking at plenty of options in both the East and West of Kent where we can trade from our own space.
“Our experience at Hoopers demonstrates how the people of Tunbridge Wells appreciate quality food and drink and share Macknade’s community values.”
In an official Instagram post, ‘Macknade @ Hoopers’ said: “Re-energising and re-invigorating the restaurant space at Hoopers has been a fantastic experience for us.
“Creating quality food and drink experiences remains our focus and we hope you will continue to follow us @macknade, as well as shop online at macknade.com or visit our shops and restaurants in Faversham & Ashford.”
At Hoopers, a spokesperson in the marketing department confirmed the changeover, saying: “We had a collaboration with Macknade, but it has come to an end.”
The department store’s restaurant will now revert to the in-house Hoopers Zest restaurant brand, which has a presence in all other Hoopers stores which are located in Harrogate, Torquay and Wilmslow.
The change is expected to take effect by the middle of next week and the department store confirmed it would be ‘maintaining staff’ who had worked for the Macknade brand until last week.
