Grays Antiques Centre is located right outside the now open Bond Street Elizabeth line station.
One of two new ticket halls for the Elizabeth line (Crossrail) high-speed east-west train link is directly in front of Grays Antiques on Davies Street.
The antiques centre, which was founded by Gray in 1977, is home to 80 dealers but has suffered in recent years due to construction works taking place outside because of the Crossrail project which began in 2009.
Access to the antiques centre was disrupted for nearly a decade. Its next-door site, called Grays Mews on Davies Mews, closed due to the impact.
Gray said: “We are right at the entrance to the station. There will be more people coming out of the station here than down Bond Street.
“This is great news for us. It bodes well for Christmas shopping. We have an extraordinary place to sell jewellery and antiques here.”
The Elizabeth line’s Bond Street station opened on October 24 and from November 6 the lines from Reading, Heathrow and Shenfield will connect through London.
Despite the disruption and other issues such as the pandemic, Gray said the dealers are thriving.
He added: “Many have been there decades and we have been through three recessions and we are still alive. I now have two pleasures: one is the fact it is such an amazing project, the other is I can finally stop hitting my head against a brick wall. We were at the epicentre of the construction.”
Gray also runs Alfies Antique Market in Church Street, Lisson Grove.
