An abandoned building on London’s Childers Street has been given a second life and Rajalingam Mathusan has turned it into what he describes as the jewel in his convenience estate.
Opened in October 2025, the 1,300sq ft Premier store is Mathusan’s fourth Premier and his first new-concept store. Despite having been open for less than a year, it had already established itself as a growing hub for the local community.
The site sits on a busy commuter route surrounded by student accommodation, and Mathusan has built the proposition around that catchment. The result is a store that goes considerably beyond a traditional convenience offer, with food-to-go at its heart.
Customers can pick up Costa Coffee, freshly baked pastries, pasties, Rollover hotdogs, muffins and burgers, alongside shakes and iced drinks. The store also features dedicated Beer and Soft Drinks Caves, while a striking Vape Vault creates a separate destination for adult vapers.
The vault is more than a visual feature. Its steel-effect exterior and power-assisted door create a distinctive experience, with entry granted only after age verification. Once inside, adult customers can browse a broad vaping range.
Fresh and frozen are also major components of the proposition, with more than six metres of fresh and five metres of frozen space. Both categories have proved particularly popular with the store’s sizeable student customer base.
But perhaps the most revealing part of Mathusan’s approach is how he has used Premier without allowing the fascia to dictate the entire store.
He describes the relationship as a partnership rather than a constraint. Premier provided support and advice throughout the planning, design and development process, while fellow Premier retailers opened their stores to him and shared their experiences. That network, he says, is one of the greatest benefits of symbol membership.
At the same time, Mathusan retained the autonomy to apply his own industry knowledge. The store’s design includes touches reflecting the building’s heritage as a former pub, while the range has been shaped around the specific demographic surrounding it.
That has led to a particularly strong ethnic range, including fresh herbs for scratch cooking, large-format rice and Supermalt, which is popular among customers of African and Caribbean heritage. The bakery offer comes from local supplier Arch Bakery and includes sourdough, Lavash pitas and Pide breads.
The value proposition is supported by Premier’s own-label ranges, including Euroshopper and Jack’s, giving the store access to products positioned around quality and value.
And the early commercial response suggests the concept is working. The store was already generating more than £25,000 a week from a standing start, with sales continuing to grow week on week.
For Mathusan, the Childers Street store demonstrates what can happen when symbol support and independent thinking work in tandem. The building may have started abandoned, but the finished store is designed firmly around what comes next: commuters, students, local residents and a convenience proposition built to give each of them a reason to walk through the door.