How Gail’s became the symbol of high-street gentrification

The opening of a Gail’s bakery in Crystal Palace has local cafes scared they will be “wiped out by a corporate giant”, said London’s The Standard. The new branch is set to take over a spot in Westow Hill in the south London borough’s central “triangle” district next month.

In an Instagram post, Brown & Green cafe in nearby Church Road said: “Our friends and neighbours and all the small cafes on the triangle are trembling.” The latest opening of the upscale bakery chain has reignited the conversation about Gail’s as a symbol for the gentrification of London neighbourhoods.

Priced out

The “mere presence” of a Gail’s seems to “provoke residents” – from Walthamstow in "trendy east London" to Lewes, East Sussex – into “a rage”, said the Daily Mail. Gail’s is being blamed for the “gentrification” of neighbourhoods because, its critics say, its arrival means “small, local shops and services” are “priced out”.

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When it moved into Walthamstow last year, a petition of opposition collected 1,800 signatures, despite the area seeming to be the “last word in gentrified living”, said The Observer. A local said she opposed the arrival of Gail’s because it would cause “inevitable” rent rises, pricing out local independent shops.

But some locals could see an upside to Gail’s arrival. One admitted that there are “benefits to gentrification” and “if house prices go up, selfishly I quite like that”.

Market decision

The broader expansion of the chain is “satisfactory for many reasons”, including the “ongoing pressure” it “exerts on independent coffee shops”, said Zoe Strimpel in The Spectator. Contrary to the “bleating of the anti-gentrificationists”, independent shops are “everywhere and going gangbusters” but Gail’s will help them to “keep improving”.

So although “London progressives” are not “grateful for its expanding presence on our streets”, the market has “made the decision for them” and “it’s the right one”.

Algorithm planning

Meanwhile, Gail’s will continue to expand, using an AI algorithm to choose locations for new branches. Co-founder and chief executive Tom Molnar said the company’s tech team has been building the system over eight years, inputting data such as the distance from transport links and the number of churches and schools in the area.

“We end up with an algorithm that can tell you kind of every postcode in the country, what we might be able to do there, based on what we’ve done,” he told the Hungry podcast. The business plans to open between 30 and 40 more bakeries across the UK in 2025 and hire 1,000 more staff.

Speaking to The Times last year, Molnar dismissed claims of “gentrification”, saying: “I’d encourage people to look at what we're trying to do, rather than taglines. There’s good independents and bad, and good chains and bad chains.”