Euston’s Drummond Street

Sam Rockman

Culturally-important Camden high street gets a colourful makeover

• Cliente

A series of shops on Drummond Street, next to Euston Station, have been given a new lease of life thanks to a street improvement strategy from Euston Town BID, Camden Council and Jan Kattein Architects.

The north London neighbourhood centre is famous for its independent businesses, many of which were established by first generation Indian and Bangladeshi immigrants. A colourful ‘glow up’ for the shopfronts is intended to celebrate the unique heritage of the area and support the street as it continues to face challenges from the nearby construction work on new high-speed rail infrastructure.

The strategy and designs were awarded £650k funding from the HS2 Business and Local Economy Fund which was match-funded by the BID. This has led to temporary street furniture that can be deployed for festivals as and when its needed, along with permanent improvements for 13 high street shops and restaurants. Jan Kattein Architects developed unique designs for each frontage in collaboration with business owners, that carefully consider the buildings’ architecture and celebrate the rich history of the street.

Visitors walking through Drummond Street will now spot Indian patterns on Diwana’s new fascia, spoons of spices decorating The Spice Shop, rich turmeric colours at Raavi, and neon letters emerging from a curry serving dish at Chutney’s – bringing to life the street’s unique cultural identity with bold designs and modern approaches.

Notable transformations have also been achieved with more recent tenants that contribute to the diversity and offer of the high street today. This includes Hot Pepper Café, with tile patterns that give a nod to the owner’s Turkish roots, clear signage areas integrating leaf- and glasses-shaped light features for Natural Herbs and i-Optix, and the conversion of a former saree shop into the newest café in the neighbourhood Cocoa Treats.

Euston Town BID CEO Simon Pitkeathly said:
“Despite the challenges facing high streets nationwide, Drummond Street stands resilient and we are delighted to be able to celebrate these independent businesses with beautiful new shop fronts. From the start this project has been a process of getting to know each of the traders and learning how we can help display their unique offering. Now is the time to discover what this central London neighbourhood has to offer!

“Drummond Street is the place to go for hearty South Asian food, and we are working hard to make sure this special neighbourhood has a very exciting future. We must treasure these businesses, because the identity and character they bring to London cannot be replaced. These new vibrant shop fronts not only brighten the street and revitalise the local area but also offer a glimpse into the amazing food on offer.”

Jan Kattein said:
“High streets are London’s most treasured public spaces where much of the capital’s social, economic and cultural life takes place, in public and open to anyone. Drummond Street has a unique history and it has been a real delight to work with Euston Town, Camden Council, businesses and members of the community. The improvements will give businesses greater resilience and help secure the future of a special place in London.”

Councillor Danny Beales, Camden Council Cabinet Member for New Homes, Jobs and Community Investment said:
“These improvements are most welcome to Drummond Street, an iconic neighbourhood that has helped to shape the identity and vibrant character of this area, and which since HS2 construction began has suffered from huge disruption and a decline in footfall that has impacted on businesses and residents.

“We are closely working with the Euston Town BID to support, sustain and revive businesses in the area and have fought hard to secure this funding to improve the public realm, with things such as outside dining spaces, events and promotional activities.

“We recently also secured £75,000 from HS2 Ltd for community safety patrols in Euston in order to tackle anti-social behaviour linked to the construction site, which has increased since works on the site were paused.”

The story behind the oldest restaurants on Drummond Street starts in the 1960’s, when many Indian workers migrated to London to fill in labour shortages after WWII. Workers living on Drummond Street with their families and working in the factories surrounding Euston Station started cooking for each other in their shared houses initially out of necessity, following which the first restaurants and specialist shops began to appear.

The street was home to the first Ambala and Gupta stores specialising in Indian sweets & snacks. The Pathak family opened their first shop at no. 134 (currently a Milkman desert shop), a successful venture that grew into the famous Patak’s brand and is closely associated with The Spice Shop at the east end of the street. Some of the oldest restaurants specialising in South Indian vegetarian street food can still be found here. Families that grew up in the neighbourhood and visitors from all over the world continue to come to Diwana for a meal, Ambala across the road to buy sweets and The Spice Shop next door for Indian groceries.