Boswell Cafe latest to leave Brunel Shopping centre for new location

Boswell Cafe, which has been in the arcade side of the town centre shopping attraction for several years has confirmed plans to leave and re-open elsewhere. 

It has also been confirmed that it won't be moving far as the new location will be in the old Forces Support charity store on Regent Street, which many in the town will remember as the former Next shop. 

Construction work is already underway at the property to get it ready for Boswell cafe's move which its managing director, Nick Burn, hopes will be happening at the end of March or the beginning of April. 

The former Forces Support charity shop and former Next store that will be the new Boswells cafe (Image: Newsquest)

Workers have opened up the windows to make the building brighter, and have also moved the staircase which was the downstairs window to create more room. When the cafe is finished it will be able to seat 80 covers both downstairs and upstairs. 

Nick said: "We’re really excited about the news, we’ve been trading as a business in Swindon since 1977, Boswells is a family business that goes a long way back in the town centre.

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"We know the town pretty well and have the confidence and belief to go and really take a step forward with what we’re doing at the new Regent Street.

"We think it will be a really nice place to come into, we're blessed with space and it's a really attractive-looking unit."

Nick also revealed that they have plans to install an outdoor seating area at the new site, including barriers and planters to make it look nice. 

This the Boswells in Cwmbran which is roughly what the new Swindon cafe will look at (Image: Boswells)

The move will mark the end of an era for the cafe which has been inside the Brunel Shopping centre under various guises and places since 1978, but the side of the Brunel it finds itself has been slowly dwindling

"We’re the last ones standing," Nick said, addressing the empty units near Boswells, "We moved to the current location in 2007. At that point was our top trading unit, over the years the footfall in that part of the Brunel centre has fallen, trajectory not going the right way."

The existing store will remain open until the new one is ready, and then staff will transfer to the new location. 

"It's a very much a positive move, we wouldn’t be doing it unless we didn’t see it as an opportunity to keep our involvement in Swindon Town centre."