1 month ago
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Greggs fans in Canterbury could soon get their hands on some discount sausage rolls, as the bakery giant plans to open a new outlet store in the city.
The high street favourite has officially launched a bid to open its 57th outlet in the UK, setting its sights on a long-abandoned Carphone Warehouse unit at Wincheap Retail Park in Canterbury.
In a letter to Canterbury City Council, agents for Greggs said the new store would constitute ‘an appropriate use, further strengthening Wincheap Retail Park’.
Greggs Outlet stores, which have operated since 1972, sell redistributed surplus food at discounted prices to help cut waste. Part of the profits is also donated to charities supporting local communities.
The former Carphone Warehouse site, situated between a Morrisons and a Hobbycraft store, has been empty since 2020 – when the company shut down.
The retail park, which is about a 25 minute walk from the city centre, is also home to a KFC, Next, Boots, Pets at Home, and Costa Coffee.
If the plans go ahead, this will be one of the few Greggs outlet locations in the South East, with a majority of the stores scattered across the North East, Midlands, and Scotland.
Currently, if you live in Kent, you’d need to travel as far as London or Southhampton to purchase any discounted baked goods.
What's your favourite Greggs snack?
Greggs has been expanding in a few corner of Kent recently. In October 2025, the chain opened a new store in Folkestone.
And just a few weeks ago, in April, the bakery unveiled a new location on Whitstable High Street, a historic seaside town in Kent.
While some residents were likely overjoyed at the launch, a few locals shared their concerns about detracting from the town’s unique charm and authenticity.
Commenting on an article KentOnline in 2025 announcing the news, one user, Gordon Bennett, wrote: ‘People are actually pleased that this ultra processed rubbish is coming to Whitstable?’
While ThomasS74 added: ‘Ghastly place – sorry.’
Facebook user Glyn Brown even went as far as to say: ‘My god, this can’t be true. What an absolute NIGHTMARE!’
Local businesses have also voiced their nervousness about the chain making its way onto the high street.
Hubbard’s Bakery, a family-owned business in the seaside town, told KentOnline: ‘It is not good as it is a chain. Tourists will go there as it is what they know.’
That said, one user on Reddit, @WAKIXABIX, didn’t seem to buy into the hype, sharing: ‘I don’t get the big deal with Greggs, just a bakers to me with coffee. Plenty of better places and food at local bakers, butchers and coffee shops.’
Despite getting the green light from councillors to go ahead with the new store, Greggs have had to make some concessions with the Whitstable branch.
The high street sits within The Whitstable Town Conservation Area – 52.9 hectares of land that protects the historic coastal character of the town.
Because of this, there are certain rules and planning controls in place in order to preserve the area’s heritage and aesthetic.
As a result, the chain’s storefront had to undergo a mini makeover, being painted grey instead of its immediately recognisable blue.
While this may placate some local concerns, one Redditor did note that ‘Greggs just looks weird when it’s grey,’ adding ‘it’s just a miserable colour.’
Currently, the council has not made a public decision regarding the Wincheap Retail Park location.
Greggs vending machines to launch in UK ‘very shortly’
In other news, Greggs fans could soon be able to skip the queue and get their lunchtime sausage roll from a vending machine.
The high street bakery chain has revealed it’s looking to experiment with some brand new retail formats, following ‘promising’ response to its first three Bitesize shops.
These are smaller stores serving a reduced range of food and drinks in train stations, airports and retail parks.
But according to the company’s C-suite team, ‘unattended retail solutions’ could be the future, which is just a fancy way of saying vending machines, in case you were wondering.
Trials of these unattended retail solutions are going to be happening ‘very shortly’, as was revealed during the company’s recent earnings call.
Richard Hutton, chief financial officer for Greggs, claimed that this will include ‘both automated and manual vending solutions’.
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