It’s often easy to focus on the businesses that are no longer trading, but there are plenty of recent additions to the borough that deserve to be celebrated.
Hopefully, these shops and restaurants will become longstanding favourites among Swindonians in the years to come.
Young entrepreneur Callum Forbes, 29, from Stratton, invested around £40,000 into opening a much-needed convenience store for Railway Village residents inside the former premises of The Gold Buying Centre on Faringdon Road in April.
He said: "I want it to become a big part of the community, I'd love there to be locals we see all the time and can have a catch-up with."
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The McArthur Glen Designer Outlet welcomed several new arrivals as a string of big brands set up shop inside the popular Rodbourne retail destination throughout the year.
These included card shop Hallmark, childrenswear retailer Angel and Rocket, shoe giant Adidas, high-end second-hand store Sign of the Times, skincare specialists Clarins, crystal experts Swarovski, and fashion brands Russell and Bromley, John Anthony, Trespass, House of Cavani, Animal, Castore, and Saltrock.
Plus, chicken chain Slim Chickens revamped the old Giraffe World Kitchen unit in October.
After 12 months of work that involved stripping bare a former TK Maxx off Great Western Way and rebuilding the structure from scratch, Home Bargains opened a new branch in August.
The retailer spent £4.5 million on the 40,042 sq ft site which created 110 new jobs and included a café and garden. Customers queued up at 8am, keen to be among the first to have a look inside.
Regent Street is always a bustling hub of activity in the town centre, and it saw a few new businesses settling into empty storefronts in 2023.
Dessert 4 You served up sweet treats, noodle bar Asaga quickly proved to be popular, Hakka2 served up tasty Chinese meals next to The Savoy, and Stax and Snacks created an American diner in the middle of Swindon.
Brazilian restaurant Recanto opened on nearby Commercial Road in June.
Gorse Hill Tea Rooms owner Stuart Whatley jumped at the chance to fill an empty shop on Cricklade Road with Harry Potter merchandise just before Christmas.
Right at the start of the new year, Pizza and Co in Newport Street – which itself opened in 2022 – added a new string to its bow with Go Doughnuts, and Tapas del Mundo began offering a variety of international dishes on Wood Street in February.
Elsewhere in Old Town, The 48 gave the old Siam Thai restaurant a new lease of life as head chef Ravi Dahayalan and his wife Anjana Varman made their dream a reality.
The couple created a menu that brings together a fusion of different flavours and tastes from across the 48 countries that make up modern Asia.
Near the end of 2023, Smart Fireworks at Basepoint Business Park offered a range of explosive entertainment in time for Bonfire Night and Prospect Hospice opened a boutique branch of its charity shop chain in Tadpole Garden Village in the autumn.
Indian Fusion Pizza on Havelock Street combined Indian and Italian cuisines by adding tikka toppings to classic pizzas.
Kaizen Burger and Sushi offered a similarly adventurous mix of tastes with its menu of Japanese dishes, American burgers, and Mexican options.
Kamil Singh, 24, invested around £100,000 into the new restaurant to replace the kitchen and seating area of the old Imperial Express.
Just down the road in Royal Wootton Bassett, sisters Gemma and Lauren Sandercock opened The Little Pottery Painting Co in December, to inspire creativity in their customers and sell carefully crafted and coloured ceramics.
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