Popular Bristol shopping centre store suddenly reopens months after shock closure

A charity shop in a Bristol shopping centre has reopened - months after closing for the “foreseeable future”.   

The YMCA store in the Galleries Shopping Centre, which has been temporarily closed since at least March, is now back open.   

The store, run by youth charity YMCA, said back in March the closure was due to “staffing issues.”    

BristolWorld has contacted YMCA regarding the reopening of the store.  

The YMCA Broadmead store, which opened in The Galleries in 2022, offers items from clothing and homeware to electrical and furniture goods.

A YMCA spokeswoman said in March: “The closure is due to staffing issues and will continue until a team is hired, which the retail department is currently working hard to do.”

YMCA was previously recruiting two new assistant store managers for the site - but the application has since been removed.

Support local journalism - subscribe now to the BristolWorld newsletter

The reopening comes despite other stores in the shopping centre closing for good, including fashion brand Jack Wills and toy shop The Entertainer. 

There are plans to demolish the centre and replace it with 450 new homes, shops, leisure, restaurants, health and community spaces, a new hotel and accommodation for 750 students.

An outline planning application was submitted in May, but the shopping centre is expected to remain open well into 2025 while first the outline and then the detailed planning application goes through the processes at City Hall.