Wharfside Shopping Centre the seaside mall transforming Penzance

From ‘a rubbish period of being empty pretty much empty’ to ‘we’re absolutely delighted with the creativity and energy from the local businesses that have come on board. There’s been a real spirit of collaboration in this whole process and retailers have truly delivered.’

06:00, 30 Nov 2025

Anyone who’s driven in and out of Penzance over the past 26 years is bound to have seen – and possibly barely taken note of – the Wharfside shopping centre.

The mall, which enjoys commanding views over St Michael’s Mount and Mount’s Bay, had been in the retail doldrums of late as the national chains it was originally designed for shut down one after another, leaving behind the barely used morose and dull looking empty shell of its former self.

Throw in the Covid pandemic’s lockdown and the economic crises of the past 20 years and Wharfside was rendered a rather uninviting shopping mall constantly plagued by lift and escalator problems.

Well no more! Fast forward to now and most of the units are filled up with independent traders, footfall has grown and what was a drab looking building is now the true gateway into Penzance.

Since Covid, especially in the past two to three years, Wharfside has undergone a complete transformation and is now home to a thriving community of mainly local indie businesses and restaurants, from a bike shop and a surf shop to a hair and nail salon, as well as a Thai restaurant, a pizza and brewbar and a gym.

The old Argos unit now forms part of Sessions, HS Fitness, Fred’s and the Wharfside Art Hub. There still is a large empty unit vacated by New Look but the owners are working on how best fill that unit.

Yes, the dodgy lift and escalators are still dodgy, but Pirate One Ltd & Pirate Two Ltd, which bought Wharfside in 2018, have recently announced it will receive a long overdue overhaul in the New Year.

It will no doubt cause some inconvenience for three months while the escalators and lifts – which have become a part of life and much-used aid to cross from harbour-level to the town centre, Market Jew Street – are being replaced with new ones, but they promise it is a once-in-a-generation piece of work which very much needs doing.

Last month they said: “We fully acknowledge the public’s frustration that the escalators and lifts have not been working and we regret any inconvenience it has caused to local people and businesses, particularly while the public works to central Penzance continue to compound the disruption.

“While we are a private business, we understand how the lifts and escalators at the Wharfside have become an integral element of local infrastructure for our commercial and residential tenants, and the wider community.”

Pirate said that 14 new businesses arrived in the past two years, with more positive developments on the way in 2026.

They said: “The Wharfside Shopping Centre in Penzance is enjoying a resurgence as more and more independent businesses join its roster of shops and restaurants. This is a considerable turnaround from just two years ago, when the centre was struggling to find tenants to fill a large number of vacant units.

“In 2023, only nine retailers remained and just two businesses occupied the mall area, leaving the heart of the centre nearly empty. However, by 2025, the nine retailers had been joined by 14 more names, all independently owned or community run and leaving only one unit to fill.”

They added: “We’re well on the way to reimagining the Wharfside Shopping Centre, to make it fit for purpose for a modern town centre. We’re absolutely delighted with the creativity and energy from the local businesses that have come on board. There’s been a real spirit of collaboration in this whole process and Penzance retailers have truly delivered.

“Of course, plenty of challenges still remain in a tough economic landscape, and there is still work to do to get the Wharfside to achieve its full potential. A key part of the agenda for 2026 is the lifts and escalator refurbishment. This is on track to be completed by April 2026 and will be part-funded by a grant from Cornwall Council. It will help restore easy access to and from the Wharfsideand the town centre.

“This development – and filling that last unit – will put the centre and our retail tenants on a great footing for the years ahead. We want to give businesses the opportunity to flourish in a thriving local hub for shopping and dining – and we’re getting there.”

CornwallLive spent the morning at Wharfside, speaking to the business owners who decided the mall-by-the-sea was the place to be.

RideOn

RideOn e-bike shop was one of the first shops to take on a unit at Wharfside two years ago. The business does everything from e-bikes repairs and servicing to hires and sales – as well as coffees and smoothies.

Todd Barden, the former Penzance Business Improvement District (BID) manager and current manager of RideOn, said the business was located in Trinity Yard at the bottom of Chapel Street until two years ago. He said he got to know owner Simon Murley while at the BID and when joining the business spoke to the owner of Wharfside about doing a pop-up shop in the summer.

“Wharfside had been through a rubbish period of being empty pretty much. We did a pop up down stairs and it worked very well. We worked with Wharfside to see about opening up a more permanent shop because of the footfall.

“Wharfside is the entrance into Penzance and probably the biggest car park in town is right across the road.”

Todd added: “We get an incredible number of customers who walk past it every day. Combine that with the improvement going on in town at the moment, knowing that Market House is going to be revamped. Add the bouldering centre planned next door, it was the logical thing to do to move into Wharfside.

“It’s been really good. It works because of the footfall. We’re right in the thick of it.”

Todd said RideOn, in a unit that used to be Thornton’s chocolates, has seen a four-fold increase in its hire fleet, has doubled the number of bike sales and now employs eight staff. “Our workshop has been so busy, we’re turning customers away.”

He feels that RideOn has helped attract some of the newer businesses to Wharfside too. “There’s Sessions surf shop, a gym, Fred’s pizza place,” he said. “All these things have happened in the last two years. Obviously everyone wants to be around RideOn. We’re the indie magnet of Penzance.”

Some of the businesses are putting on evening events too so Wharfside is not just a day-time shopping destination but helps boost the town’s night-time economy too.

St Justin

St Justin jewellery shop is one of the longest established businesses at Wharfside, having been there since 2015. Its jewellery is designed and made in Cornwall – it has its own factory at Long Rock – with a variety of designs which have been crafted in pewter, Cornish tin, sterling silver and bronze.

St Justin, which was first set up in 1984, has seen the ups and downs of the Wharfside Shopping Centre in the past decade. Dawn Jackson, who has worked for the company for 21 years, said trade has certainly picked up in the past couple of years.

“We get a lot of people through in the summer but plenty of our regulars are locals too. It’s been great to see Wharfside busy again and new shop open. For a while it felt isolated. So it’s nice to be able to look out the window and see other businesses and people about.

“It feels a bit more secure too.”

Dawn said that when New Look, Argos and the other national chains all left, Wharfside went down the pan, but now, most of the empty units have been filled up and the centre is lively once more.

“It’s nice to have a mixture of independent shops and some brands,” Dawn added.

Refillution

Across from St Justin is Refillution is environmentally-conscious Penzance’s newest refill and reuse store. It offers eco-friendly products and workshops to support sustainable living and community-driven change.

The brainchild of Jo Smith and Natalie Jose, it opened at Wharfside at the start of October. “We’re still very new but it’s been going very well,” Jo said. “The feedback has been so positive. People have been checking us out because we’re quite active on social media.”

She added: “We’re starting to see a wider use of refill containers and people are starting to bring their own containers now which is great because that ‘s the whole point o the shop.”

Jo said Refillution differs from the other refill stores across town in that they do more refill cosmetics including refill mascara, shampoo and make-up as a well as frozen goods too.

She explained: “The unit at Wharfside was available. With the businesses already here we saw there was a nice vibe and new upcoming businesses. We wanted to be part of that community.”

Like others, she said the unit is much larger than many shops on the high street but that gives Refillution flexibility to expand and hold workshops too. “In the run up to Christmas, we’ll be doing a wreath-making workshop,” Jo said. “We want it to become a community space working with Plastic Free Penzance.”

Wharfside Art Hub

Run by group of artists and makers in conjunction with Penzance Studios, Wharfside Art Hub is dedicated to promoting Penzance as a creative community.

A vast space, we visited as it was being prepped to welcome an exhibition by artist Volker Stox, a German national who has been in the UK for 53 years. A digital artist, he creates most of his art through digital media on is computer before transferring the works onto canvas or prints.

“It’s been a journey of discovery for 25 years,” he told us. “I have exhibitions in PZ Gallery and I had a big exhibition in London. I met Kate Jones, who runs the Art Hub here and it was an opportunity for me to show off my work at home so my friends and family could come and see it.

“Kate asked if I wanted to come in. It is a gig space which is perfect for my work. I’m loving it.” One of the larger rooms will be used to project a film while the rest of the space will be used to hold Volker’s work.

“Wharfside is beginning to work,” he added. “All the shops have enormous space. It’s a great opportunity for artists. I think it’s going to work out well for Wharfside.”

A trained architect before he became an artist, he said at present Wharfside acts as a wind tunnel but could be improved with a glass roof and glass doors at each end to stop the cold wind rushing through and create a covered mall similar to Princesshay in Exeter, which would allow for tables and chairs to be put out along with planters and create a more continental feel.

“It would be even more welcoming I think,” he added.

Fred’s

Fred’s wood fired pizza restaurant opened in July and with some truly incredible views across the bay, it’s not hard to see how popular it has already become.

The brainchild of Josh Dunkley, the owner of The Crown pub half a mile or so away from Wharfside, Fred’s is set to welcome its own brew bar soon with a microbrewery to boot.

“The brew kit is on the China Sea as we speak,” Josh explained. There will be eight tanks behind the bar and the beer will come out on tap straight from the tanks. You can’t get any fresher beer than that.”

He said the idea of the microbrewery was to be able to do his own beers, enough for both Fred’s and the Crown and feeling a lot freer than having to depend on a supplier.

“No distribution fees. No sales teams. No waiting for 90 days to be paid. It works,” he added. “Wharfside offered proximity and size. I really feel it’s on the up. At the moment we’re doing 100 covers but when the brewbar is up and running we’ll be able to do 150.”

Like the other traders at Wharfside we’ve spoken to, and probably every Penzance resident too, he has had his fill of the roadwork, gas work and the escalator an lift issues at Wharfside. “It’s been putting people off coming. I know they’re fixing it but not fast enough.

“It’s a bit of a dead zone at the moment. That’s why we’re putting music events on to liven things up a bit. I think with the brewbar it’ll be even better.”

Freddie’s Proper Sweets & Treats

The brightly coloured sweet shop has been opened since December 2023 and is one of the first ones along with RideOn to form part of Wharfside’s renouveau.

“It’s been good,” said staffer Kelsey Osborne. “With the improvement going on we have definitely seen more people come through and better footfall. We have noticed the change. It used to be just St Justin and the Card Factory but there is more life to the area now.”

Kelsey said summertime does see an increase in holidaymakers who park down below by the harbour and walk through the shopping mall up to Market Jew Street but there are still plenty of locals in the shop every week during the rest of the year.

“The main block to get even more customers is the roadwork and issue with the escalators but that’s changing too.”

Sessions Surf & Skate Shop

Sessions opened on the ground floor, literally opposite the crossing from the car park, 12 months ago, after the owners decided to expand their Falmouth business with a second store.

“It was a great opportunity to come back here,” manager Matt Chivers said. “For us it’s better because we are more visible. People drive past us when they go to the car park or the Prom. You can’t miss us. Our customers a re a mix of locals and holiday makers.

“Business has been good since we opened. Things are on the up in this town with some of the big improvements being made. It has been a tough summer but things are going to be okay and good. Wharfside had been going through some dark time, but it’s really good now. It’s going in the right direction with new indie shops, places to eat and the gym.”

HS Functional Fitness

Located in what used to be the basement of the old Argos store, HS Functional Fitness is the new kid on the block in Penzance when it comes to gym offerings.

“We opened on December 16, 2024, so almost a year ago exactly,” Simon Stone, who opened the gym with his son Harvey, said. “We’re well known in the Penzance area. I grew up here. My son grew up here and played rugby locally.”

The former police officer who used his police pension to start the business said the last year has exceeded all expectations. “We still have to tell people where we are as most assume we are in the main thoroughfare at Wharfside when we’re tucked away but we’ve exceeded the number of members we had target to have. We have about 200 members which is really good.

“There is competition with other gyms in Penzance but they don’t do what we do which is to specialise in functional fitness which is about being fit for every day life.”

Simon said members range in age from 14 to 84. “The lady who is 84 used to have mobility issues,” he said. “She couldn’t get out of her chair without help and is able to do that now.”

He said while at first the split between male and female members was 70 per cent/30 per cent, there have been more female members joining lately.

About why he and Harvey chose Wharfside for their gym, Simon added: “We came to see RideOn and they told us about the footfall that comes through the shopping centre. It’s huge. There is a large car park on the other side of the road and it’s very accessible to local residents and people who work in town.”

He added: “We have seen an increase in the number of daily passes for visitors. Some of them come from Los Angeles, Brazil, Australia or France and googles our gym before coming. We thought summer would be quiet as its when people exercise outside but it was busy as in winter.

“The vision of Wharfside and where it is going, made us think it was the right place for us. It’s the perfect location. There’s a microbrewery coming. More independent shops, restaurants. We like the fact that Wharfside are supporting independent shops rather than national chains.”

Beautique

Nail salon Beautique has been established in Penzance for 16 years. When its lease was not renewed, owners mother and daughter Beverley Cooke and Chelsea Laity, looked for other venues and set their eyes on a unit at Wharfside.

“It was a bit daunting,” Beverley said, “because it is a lot bigger. But it’s the best thing we’ve done. There was a lot to do to get up and running but it has allowed us to expand. We’ve taken on more staff and we have these treatment rooms at the back that aesthetics nurses and lash technicians use.

“Business has been really good and we’ve picked up new customers. We were invisible before above a shop and we didn’t have a shop front but now we enjoy a lot of passing trade.

“The lifts and the roadworks have been an issue but it has not affected us to badly as many of our elderly customers get dropped off and we help them in and out of the shop. We’ve had a lot of support from Wharfside. They’re really supportive of all of us.”

We may not have been able to speak with all the businesses at Wharfside but here’s the list of all of them so they don’t feel left out.

Warrens
RideOn
Wharfside Ats Hub
St Justin
Card Factory
Freddie’s Proper Sweets & Treats
Beautique
Thai Moon
Cork & Fork
Fred’s Restaurant
Hunter & Walsh (hair salon)
Mermaid Too
Iceland
Sessions Surf & Skate Shop
Willy Wallers Ice Cream
Hellys’ Bistro
HS Functional Fitness
Dead Sailor BMX
Refillution
Gulls R Loud

To check out Wharfside Shopping Centre visit https://wharfsidepz.co.uk/

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