Pret is proud to have been serving the people of Oxford since its first shop opened at 2 Cornmarket Street nearly 20 years ago.

Since then, we’ve opened two more shops in Oxford; one further along Cornmarket Street, and the other, in the West Wing of the John Radcliffe Hospital, between the children’s hospital and eye hospital, which opened last month.

We are particularly excited by this new opening as it is Pret’s first opportunity to provide our much-loved menu to the visitors, outpatients and the hard-working staff of a busy hospital.

The menu has been well-received so far and they’ve already had some fantastic feedback. One parent who comes to the hospital daily to visit her child described the shop as “a little oasis of calm” for when she needs a coffee break and some time to herself.

The new shop also gives us another chance to support local people in need. None of Pret’s food has a “sell-by” date. Instead, the food is freshly made in our on-site kitchens in every shop each day, and sold that same day. Any food that is left over when the shops close is donated to local charities supporting the homeless, and last year we donated over three million food items across the UK.

We are already lucky enough to work with two fantastic charities in Oxford, whose support of homeless people in the area is so valuable.

We’ve worked with both Simon House and Riverside’s Lucy Faithfull House for many years, providing nightly food packages for them to offer their residents, alongside their safe shelter and valued advice. Both charities are treated with real gratitude from residents who wouldn’t otherwise have access to such safe environments.

Pret is able to continue supporting other charities with surplus food from our new shop, and we are working with Ronald McDonald House, which offers temporary accommodation to parents or families who have a child in need of long-term care at the John Radcliffe. Instead of worrying about buying or making themselves a nutritious dinner after a day with their child in hospital, they will have access to free salads, sandwiches, and other items from Pret.

I am lucky enough to have lived and worked in Oxford for a number of years and have shared many fun experiences; from seeing the delight on our customers’ faces when we offer them a coffee on the house, to feeding local actors, band members and footballers who regularly come into our shops.

Agi and Rosalia in my team have 20 years of combined service at Pret in Oxford and have a great rapport with our regulars. My husband is always surprised by how many people I know when we’re walking around town. Not only by name or face, but also by coffee preference.

We’d love to thank our regular customers and new customers for welcoming our third Oxford shop with open arms – we can’t wait to get to know many new faces too.

TRY IT
Pret A Manger, 2 Cornmarket Street and 26-27 Cornmarket Street, Oxford 
West Wing, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford
020 7932 5230