It comes after cafes in the chain’s food stores in Anlaby and Kingswood were also closed in the past year
M&S Food in Beverley is closing its in-store café(Image: supplied image)
Beverley’s M&S Food has announced the permanent closure of its popular in-store café. The chain, which has previously revealed it was closing a number of cafés across its smaller food-only outlets, has confirmed that the town’s M&S café is set to shut for the final time on Saturday, August 8.
It follows a recent spate of closures of the retailer’s cafés around the region, including one at Kingswood, which closed back in February, as well as another at the Anlaby Retail Park that similarly closed last September before the store was renovated earlier this year. A notice recently displayed in-store now confirms that the café in Beverley, which is located in Butcher Row, will also now close.
This week, customers were still able to locate the Beverley store’s café online and browse its new summer menu.
A number of people online have commented on how they will “really miss” the venue. One customer who enjoyed brunch there said in an online review: “Just sitting in the M and S café Beverley, and felt I must leave a review. Every single staff member is so welcoming and chatty with every single customer, asking about their day, how they are, they know all of the regulars names too. They are above and beyond. Credit where credit is due.”
In February, more than a dozen of the retailer’s cafés nationwide were earmarked for closure. The retailer has previously said it would be closing down certain cafés to be able to offer a wider range of products in its food halls.
When news of the Kingswood store’s café closing was announced, one customer told Hull Live she and other café regulars were “greatly saddened” to lose it. She said at the time: “There is quite a few of us that have become friends through meeting in there. It is also disabled friendly and caters for people with dietary restrictions.”
The earlier closure of the Anlaby Retail Park M&S café prompted similar responses, with one patron saying they were “baffled” by the closure because the venue was “always busy”. The “About” section on the M&S website says of its cafés: “These are not just any cafés… These are M&S Cafés, home to expertly crafted coffee, flavour-packed food and your daily dose of M&S Food magic.
“Across the UK and Ireland, over 200 cafés are serving delicious food and drinks every day. With more than 1,700 master baristas behind the counter, we serve a hot drink every 90 seconds – that’s over 27 million cups of coffee and 10 million pots of tea a year.
“Whether you’re popping in for a quick pick-me-up or sitting down to enjoy something tasty, every dish and drink is made with the same great-quality ingredients from our Foodhall. Many of our cafés now offer takeaway too, perfect when you’re on the move.”
The nearest operating M&S Cafe will be in the Marks & Spencer store at Gallagher Retail Park, in Scunthorpe.
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