Grand Opening! Fortnum & Mason will open its first store outside of London on Friday 21 March, 2014. The new 9,400-square foot store is located adjacent to The Address in cosmopolitan Downtown Dubai and situated opposite the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. The new Fortnum’s store will offer its world-famous products including tea, biscuits, jam, chocolates, and signature hampers. The Dubai store will also include a tea salon serving classic English afternoon tea and an ice cream parlour.
The official grocer to Her Majesty, the Queen and the Prince of Wales, Fortnum and Mason has been committed to bringing the world’s best food to London since 1707. The company began when William Mason rented a room from Hugh Mason, the owner of a small shop in St James’s Market. Mr. Fortum, a footman in Queen Anne’s household, created a prosperous side business selling used palace wax when the royal household insisted on using fresh candles every night. Using his additional earnings, Mr. Fortnum was able to partner with his landlord and the two opened a small grocery shop in Piccadilly. Throughout the explosion of international trade in London during the early 18th century, they created a unique emporium for goods sold nowhere else. Fortnum’s was in the forefront of introducing the British to the world’s best teas, and it was the first shop in Britain to sell Henry Heinz’ American baked beans. Fortnum and Mason’s famous luxury picnic Hampers were first distributed to Victorian high society for events such as Ascot, Wimbledon, and the Henley Regatta. Today, Fortnum’s distributes close to 120,000 packages around the world each year which include everything from a box of champagne truffles to grand hampers filled with Stilton cheese, Quails eggs and smoked salmon. Afternoon Tea at Fortnum’s has been a tradition since 1926, and on March 1st 2012, Fortnum’s refurbished St James’s restaurant was opened by Her Majesty, the Queen accompanied by Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and renamed The Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon.
- Fortnum and Mason
- 181 Piccadilly, London, W1A 1ER
- http://www.fortnumandmason.com
- Underground: Green Park and Picadilly Circus