How to support traders at Kingston Market after the devastating fire

In the early hours of Tuesday morning (October 6), four fire engines and 25 firefighters rushed to Kingston’s Ancient Market to extinguish a blaze which broke out in the Market Place. Luckily, no injuries were reported from the fire, but the damage to local businesses could be hefty, with stalls destroyed and local shopfronts seriously damaged. 

In the immediate aftermath of the blaze, the council cordoned off the whole of the Market Place to allow the Met Police and London Fire Brigade to investigate. The area of the cordon has since been reduced to lessen the impact on local traders, but many still won’t be able to do business for the foreseeable future. 

Mushtaq Ahmad, owner of Pakistani street food stall Chilli Cha Cha, told Time Out: ‘We’ve been trading at Kingston Market for over 10 years, so it has been incredibly difficult to see the damage caused by the fire, particularly to the fruit and veg stalls and the fish stall.’ 

Vietnamese street food stall PhoReal took to Instagram to say they were ‘sad and speechless’ at the impact of the devastating fire, while Kingston council leader Andreas Kirsch said the local authority was working hard to ‘support all those affected’.

Founded in 1170, Kingston’s is one of the oldest markets in London. If, like us, your first thought on reading this was ‘what can I do to help this historic spot?’, you’re in the right place. We reached out to local vendors and operators to find out how best to support them while Kingston’s Ancient Market gets back on its feet.

‘The biggest support people can give right now is to keep visiting Kingston Market, keep ordering from the businesses that are open, and continue supporting the independent traders here,’ Chilli Cha Cha’s Ahmad said.

‘Kingston Market is a hub of independent businesses that rely heavily on the support of the local community to keep trading. We’ve always felt part of that community, and we’ll be doing whatever we can to support our fellow traders and help them get back on their feet.’

The hot food side of the market is still open and stalls including Chilli Cha Cha and Rooster Run continue to trade, so you can head over on your lunch break to grab some chow or, alternatively, order through Deliveroo and Uber Eats.

Plus, we’ve compiled a list of all the traders at Kingston’s Ancient Market and a link to their websites (for those which have them), so you can support their businesses by buying online.

All the stalls which typically trade at Kingston’s Ancient Market

• Webster’s Fishmongers
• Olivier’s Bakery 
• Thee Olive Tree
• Chilli Cha Cha
• Roti Run
• Exotic Tagine
• PhoReal
• Namu
• Momma’s Kitchen
• Mac and Maki
• Fasika’s vegan Ethiopian stall
• Burger Bros
• Rooster Run
• Big Dogs
• Burrito & Co
• Kingston Juice Bar
• The Crepe Stand
• Senor Churro (run by Rooster Run)
• Zoe’s Flowers

Did you see that this north London newspaper kiosk is being transformed into a tiny bookshop?

Plus: famous Chinatown restaurant Café TPT is closing.

Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke – from news and reviews to events and trends. Just follow our Time Out London WhatsApp channel. 

Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out London newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.