04 Sep 2026
Queues of eager customers snaked through the length of The Maltings Shopping Centre ahead of the opening of St Albans’ long-awaited Søstrene Grene store.
The first in line were mother and daughter Kamal and Juhi Gajjar, from Kings Langley, who arrived complete with seats and umbrellas at 7.30am – two and a half hours ahead of the official opening.
The store offers an extensive range of Scandinavian homewares, seasonal décor, furniture, craft collections and lifestyle accessories, alongside herbal teas, sweets and even bread-making kits.
University of Bournemouth student Juhi explained why they decided to get there so early: “I’ve never done anything like this before and I thought why not give it a try? It’s also my favourite store, I’ve been to lots of others around the country including Uxbridge, Winchester and Guildford, but this will be the first one in Hertfordshire so it will be my nearest store.”
Our team from the St Albans Times arrived shortly after eight, but the queue really began to grow following the morning school run, until it eventually stretched all the way through the shopping centre to the Chequer Street entrance by Lloyds Bank.
The first 100 customers received a goodie bag and a voucher for a free throw, and were entertained by a string quartet and ballet dancers, bringing a touch of class to a rainy Friday morning.
Also at the front was St Albans resident Kate Barbour, who said: “I’ve come to see the new store and get my freebie throw.”
She described the store as “Tiger for grown-ups”, referring to the popular Flying Tiger Copenhagen brand found in neighbouring Christopher Place Shopping Centre.
Fawn Emerick, just behind her, added: “I absolutely love the store. My mum and I travel to the one in Windsor twice a year, so it’s brilliant that one has opened in St Albans.”
Maltings centre manager Richard Marrett was on hand for the official opening, and said: “We’re incredibly excited about Søstrene Grene opening at The Maltings, it’s the perfect addition to our growing retail mix for residents and visitors to St Albans.”
