Bbc
Philomena says she is “furious” of the closure of the Morrisons Cafe in Queensbury
It is the lunch Friday in a Morrisons in Queensbury, in northwestern London, and the coffee in store is occupied.
At a table, a teenager throws himself into a ham sandwich on the phone with a friend. It remains much more than half an hour.
In another, an elderly couple discusses a hot meal.
A customer queue is regularly formed at the checkout.
But this is one of the 52 cafes that closed – including others in London, Leeds, Portsmouth and Glasgow – announced this week in a cost reduction campaign which, according to the supermarket chain, is designed to “renew and invigorate the morrisons” and concentrate “investment in the fields that really appreciate customers”.
It came two months after Sainsbury’s said that he closed the 61 of his supermarket cafes.
While some consider the decline of supermarket cafes as inevitable, buyers of the country told BBC News that these cafes offer them a cheap, practical and welcoming place to take a hot meal while catching up with friends.
“Share a meal without the stress of cooking”
The regulars of the Morrisons Cafe de Queensbury say that they are surprised – and saddened – to hear that he is closing.
Philomena Hughes, 76, has a meal with two friends, just shopping. The trio fell on a couple they know at the coffee, which moves to the table next to them and join their conversation.
Philomena says she is “furious” with the closure. “Morrisons was really the only place I would come,” she said. “We meet people we know here.”
Other coffee regulars tell the BBC that quality is good, that prices are low and it is practical to shop in advance. They point to offers like a free children’s meal with an adult, free parking and a fish and chips with pasty peas for £ 8.50.
Morrisons says that 344 of his cafes will remain open despite the expected closures, but, according to his chief executive, Rami Baitiéh, “a minority has specific local challenges and in these places, unfortunately, the closure and reallocation of space is the only reasonable option”.
Elsewhere in the country, Ben Hopkins, 32, believes that his local cafe Morrisons in Meltham, in the West Yorkshire, is animated each time it leaves because “food is typical of what you would get in a traditional fatty spoon”.
It can also be useful for parents. Lisa Clavering, from St Albans, says that she relied on the ASDA and Morrisons cafes for a “fast and inexpensive hot lunch” when her two sons were younger.
“As they grew up, it was somewhere that we could go together and share a meal without the stress of cooking it and cleaning, where I did not feel judged by other customers if they made noise,” said the 42 -year -old man.
Lisa Clavering
Lisa Clavering, 42, says she relied on supermarket cafes for “fast and cheap hot lunch” when her two sons were younger
Lisa says that part of the appeal of a supermarket coffee is that they feel accessible and “a warm and welcoming place without hassle or surprise”.
“I fear that once they have disappeared, there is not really a type to replace them, and other alternatives are generally much more expensive,” explains Lisa.
‘Should not surprise’
But other people question the need for supermarket cafes, pointing to changes in people’s purchase habits and the growing competition of high coffee chains.
The closure of Morrisons cafes “should not surprise,” said the Natalie Berg detail analyst at the BBC. “Listed grocers are desperately trying to navigate in significant winds of significant costs, while competing simultaneously with discounters like Aldi and Lidl,” she said.
“This is a low -margin industry, so supermarkets must be completely ruthless with regard to cost reduction.”
When buyers enter larger supermarkets, they “want low prices and want an experience without friction. Cafés in stores work in certain places, but they are simply not essential for most stores”, explains Ms. Berg.
He largely echoes the reasoning that Sainsbury gave for his closures – that “the majority of the most loyal buyers do not regularly use cafes”.
Ben Tinca, 19, a student living near the Morrisons store in Queensbury, says that he generally meets his friends in fast food chains like Nando’s, KFC and McDonald’s.
He never went to a Morrisons coffee only once. “You generally only see elderly people eating there,” he said.
Ben Tinca says he usually meets his friends in fast food chains, not supermarket cafes
And back at Queensbury Store, Snehal Khimani does not think that people are too careful about the closure of supermarket cafes, saying that there was no “scandal”.
“If it was popular, you would hear about it”, as when Pret A Ember changed his subscription service, “he said.
And in addition, the Tesco and Marks & Spencer rival supermarkets – which have more than 300 cafes each – have said nothing about the closure of their cafes.
M & s tells the BBC that he continues to invest in his cafes and plans to have cafes in the majority of his largest stores. Last year, he announced that he would try to offer more food and take -out drinks to attract younger customers.
In an M&S Cafe in the center of London that the BBC visited, Matthew Wilsher has just been Cappuccino.
For the 62 -year -old man, the figures do not lie. His coffee cost £ 3.40 and would be less if he remembered his reusable cup. For him, “it’s cheaper than a loan or a Starbucks,” he said.
Additional report by Charlotte Edwards and Faarea Masud.
