FOODIES rejoice! The popular burger chain Five Guys is set to come to Windsor very soon.

An empty shop somewhere in the town centre is set to be occupied by the American fast food restaurant in the next couple of months.

This was announced by Windsor town manager Paul Roach at a Windsor town forum on Thursday, January 13. Dental, cosmetic, and laser treatment surgery Estetica and Bovingdons Estate Agent will also be moving into the centre.

Mr Roach said more businesses are eyeing a move into Windsor but could not reveal any details on who that might be.

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Within the last three months, Love Brownies Windsor, bubble tea café Mooboo and hair salon Leo Mancini have moved into Windsor. Fine goods store Gregory and Tapping have also moved into the Eton High Street.

Sadly, Revital Health Food Store, Royal House of Windsor, and War Hammer have recently closed shop for good. Cllr Samantha Rayner (Con: Eton & Castle) said she “noticed” the Johnson shoe shop is closing as well.

Currently, Windsor has a 10.48 per cent shop vacancy rate, which is four per cent lower than the national average. The rate in Clewer and Dedworth is significantly lower, standing at two per cent, and only one per cent of businesses in Ascot are empty.

Mr Roach said: “January and February are going to be key in terms of vacancy rates because if business were to go elsewhere or disappear, towards the end of January/beginning of February is usually that period where businesses have gone through Christmas and generally just traded to make sure they can capitalise on that.

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“We see our largest falls in the next month or so, but we’ve got some positive news with some businesses coming forward and there are more than that.”

Despite high Covid cases in December, Cllr Rayner said “a lot” of Windsor shopkeepers have said trade was well during that turbulent month.

Since October, the 2021 footfall figures have shown more activity in the town centre compared with 2018, which represents a 47.6 per cent increase.

In December, there were nearly 140,000 people visiting Windsor. December 2018’s figures were 130,897.

While this year’s car and coach parking figures are way above 2020’s statistics, it is still below the 2019 figures. However, it is higher compared with 2018.