Ipswich Bazaar opens in former Poundland in Carr Street

Ipswich Bazaar opened on July 22 with an opening ceremony before shoppers flocked to the aisles to get a taste of the new store.

The shop is a multi-cultural supermarket, selling all types of food from different countries in the world and it also has an in-store butchers, bakery and restaurant with 80 seats.

The Poundland store in Carr Street has been closed since 2023.

Ipswich Bazaar opened on July 22 (Image: Tom Cann)

Ipswich Bazaar workers stocking the shelves ahead of opening (Image: Tom Cann)

The 26,000 sq ft premises has been taken over by owner Ariful Islam who said: "This is the result of a lot of hard work.

"We've been working on this new venture for a very long time and I am so happy to see our hard work over many months paying off.

"This fills a major gap in the retail sector opening a store which stocks items from around the world.

The shop stocks a variety of items (Image: Tom Cann)

Mayor of Ipswich, Elango Elavalakan with Ipswich Bazaar director Ariful Islam (Image: Tom Cann)

"We've spared no expense on making it very diverse and inclusive and it would not have been possible without the support from Ipswich Borough Council and my family."

The opening of the store has created around 50 new jobs.

The Mayor of Ipswich, Councillor Elango Elavalakan, said: "This is very important for our town. Ipswich is proud to have so many cultures, and this shop is for the community.

"It's a massive store which is back in use and that is very important for the town. It's a good addition to the town centre and hopefully Ipswich Bazaar and surrounding shops in Carr Street will see the benefit of more people in the area."

The in-house butchers (Image: Tom Cann)

The store has created more than 50 jobs for local people (Image: Tom Cann)

Ipswich Borough Councillor John Cook, who represents Alexandra Ward, added: "I am really pleased to see this latest addition to our high street open.

"This shop has been closed for too long."

The store was officially opened on Monday. (Image: Tom Cann)

The shop sells a variety of items from across the world (Image: Tom Cann)

Mojlum Khan from the BSC Multicultural Society in Ipswich, added: "I remember when this was a Woolworths, and then a Poundland, and it has been sitting empty doing nothing until Ariful thought otherwise.

"I hope this will attract people from not only Ipswich but across Suffolk and beyond to come back to Ipswich and do their shopping here."

The shop sells a variety of items from across the world (Image: Tom Cann)

The shop has over 50 employees (Image: Tom Cann)

Within minutes of opening, the shop was filled with people (Image: Tom Cann)