Major coffee chain with over 2,000 branches to shut ‘lovely’ store TODAY as customers complain it’s ‘another loss’
A POPULAR coffee chain with more than 2,000 sites is shutting another of its stores.
Costa Coffee is pulling down the shutters on another one of its cafes, this time in West Sussex.
The high street favourite has closed several stores in recent months.
In May, Costa Coffee shut it’s popular branch in Uppingham.
A branch on Chiswick High Road bit the dust on February 6 while the Costa Coffee on Edinburgh’s Bruntsfield Place served its last latte on February 14.
Now, the chain has confirmed that its cafe in The Martlets, Burgess Hill, will be closing from today.
One person shared a photo of the closure sign in a Facebook group, and shoppers shared their dismay at the news.
One person commented: “Is this due to the fact they can’t have customers sitting there?
“I don’t even like coffee but anyone could see that was going to happen since the centre stopped people sitting down. I hope the other places don’t go as well.”
Someone else wrote: “Another shop bites the dust. Not much more to loose Burgess Hill is a lonely boring ghost town nothing worth going into town for.
“Not even B&M make it exciting as I find that shop a bit depressing.”
Another person said: “Costa is the only place that makes good coffee. Sorry Gregg’s but I don’t really like your hot drinks.”
Someone else commented: “Support the local cafes…Lucy’s, Sunshine etc. Costa was pushed out of Rottingdean too as everyone supported the smaller local traders.”
A Costa Coffee Spokesperson said: “We can confirm that our franchise-owned Costa Coffee store in The Martlets, Burgess Hill, is closing its doors for trade today.
“Team members have been redeployed to nearby stores. Customers can continue to enjoy their favourite Costa coffee at our nearest store in Tesco’s Superstore on Jane Murray Way, or by using the store locator here: https://www.costa.co.uk/locations/store-locator/map”
In a franchise model, a business sells a licence to a third-party (franchisee) to trade under the brand name.
Franchises are separate legal entities, which means their owners have freedom to do things like set pay and conditions for their employees.
Which other food and drink chains have closed?
Food and drink chains in general have been suffering in recent months as the cost of living has led to fewer people spending on eating out.
Businesses had been struggling to bounce back after the pandemic, only to be hit with soaring energy bills and inflation.
Costa isn’t the only coffee chain to close sites in recent months.
Caffè Nero, which launched in the UK in 1997, pulled down the shutters on half a dozen sites in 2023 in a blow for caffeine lovers.
However, one of the six sites was shut for temporary renovation while another was a relocation.
Four coffee houses did close their stores for good though, including its Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, branch which shut on June 3.
Its site in Witney closed two days later, then the branch in Wigan’s town centre on June 25.
International coffee giant Starbucks is pulling down the shutters on one of its coffee houses in just a few days.
The chain will be closing its branch in Dalton Park Shopping Centre, County Durham on March 10.
At the end of last year, Starbucks shuttered their coffee house in Botanic Avenue, Belfast, for good.
Retailers opening stores
IT'S not all bad news on the high street as several retailers are bucking the trend and opening shops.
- German discounter Aldi has announced it will open 35 new UK stores this year. The openings form part of Aldi‘s long-term target of operating 1,500 stores in the UK.
- Asda has been opening hundreds of convenience stores as it looks to rival major players Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
- Purepay Retail Limited , the parent company of Bonmarché, Edinburgh Woollen Mill (EWM) and Peacocks, Purepay Retail Limited, has said it wants to open 100 new high street stores over the next 18 months.
- Home Bargains has said it wants to “eventually have between 800 and 1,000 retail outlets open”.
- Primark is also opening new branches and investing and renovating more than a dozen of its existing shops.
- Screwfix is set to open 40 new stores nationwide as its owner, Kingfisher, seeks to expand the DIY brand’s national presence.
- Tesco has revealed plans to open 70 more stores across the UK over the next year as part of major expansion plans.
- WHSmith has turned its focus to the travel side of its business, with plans to open new sites in airports, railway stations and hospitals.
Multiple chains have been affected, resulting in big-name brands like Wetherspoons and Frankie & Benny’s closing branches.
In early 2023, burger chain Byron Burger collapsed into administration resulting in the loss of over 200 jobs.
Prezzo, the Italian chain, also revealed plans to shut 46 restaurants last year as a result of soaring energy and food costs, putting 810 jobs at risk.
Although some chains have managed to persevere, like Greggs which announced huge expansion plans.
Bakery chains Wenzel’s the Bakers and Patisserie Valerie are also looking at opening new branches.