HAS BEAN
Major coffee chain with 2,000 branches abruptly shuts busy shopping centre location
The coffee chain has closed dozens of sites in recent months
A MAJOR coffee chain has abruptly closed a busy town centre store leaving customers "truly gutted".
The popular café has already closed dozens of its sites in recent months.
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Costa closed its branch in Alexandra retail park, Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent, on Sunday 1 September.
The franchised site had been open for nine years, and customers have said it was a "great place".
Commenting on news of the closure one said: "We're gonna need a new meeting place!"
Another added: "Truly gutted been this morning to say fair well to lovely staff and friends."
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A third added: "Great place to enjoy a coffee, great staff."
The store's closure follows the opening of a Starbucks in the same retail park in July 2023.
Costa had opened a branch in nearby Sandyford in 2022 and has said staff will be offered jobs in the new site.
Stoke-on-Trent has seen a number of store closures this year including American sportswear shop Lids, USC, Just Finns and the Harry Potter shop.
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A spokesperson for the coffee chain confirmed the franchise-owned and operated store had closed and added: " A majority of the Alexandra Park store team are re-locating to our new drive thru store in Sandyford, where they look forward to continuing serving the local community their favourite Costa Coffee – whether they are on-the-move or choose to sit in-store and relax."
Costa fans will be happy to know it is not part of a mass closure as the coffee chain giant regularly reviews its store estate across the UK.
Get a free cake on your birthday at Costa
This can include the closing or renovation of existing stores, or the opening of new stores.
Below we reveal the full list of Costa Coffee sites which have already shut and those which are due to close this year.
To find your nearest store or Costa Express machine, you can visit the chain's website.
Which Costa Coffee shops have closed?
Each of the sites which have closed has further Costas nearby, which you can find using the locator tool on the chain's website.
The following branches closed, or are set to close this year.
- Packhorse Road, Buckinghamshire - January 10
- King Street, Maidstone, Kent - January 20
- Chiswick High Road, London - February 6
- Bruntsfield Place, Edinburgh - February 14
- Rottingdean, Brighton and Cove - February
- Erdington High Street, Birmingham - March 1
- Cheltenham (inside House of Fraser) - March 23
- Stockton Heath, Warrington - April 11
- High Street West, Uppingham - May
- Rhyl High Street, North Wales - May 14
- The Martlets, Burgess Hill, July 8
- Maryport Street, Devizes - August 15
- Alexandra retail park, Tunstall - September 1
Here are the Costa shops which closed in 2023:
- Coliseum retail park in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire - June 3
- Welch Way, Witney - June 5
- Wigan town centre - June 25
- Five Rise Shopping Centre, Bingley - July 9
- High Street, Worcester - July (relocated September 15)
- Lowestoft's North Quay retail park - July 23 (refurbishment)
- Church Street, Oakham - September 15
- West Bridgford, near Nottingham - September 22
- Commercial Street, Newport, Wales - October
- Church Street in Malvern, near Worcestershire - November 17
- Gatwick Airport South Terminal - November
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.
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.
More recently, Papa Johns confirmed 43 closures for May 2024.
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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.
How to save money eating out
THERE are a number of ways that you can save money when eating out. Here's how:
Discount codes - Check sites like Sun Vouchers or for any discount codes you can use to get money off your order.
Tastecard - This is a members club where you pay to have access to discounts worth up to 50 per cent off at thousands of restaurants. It costs £4.99 a month or £34.99 for the year.
Loyalty schemes - Some restaurants will reward you with discounts or a free meal if you register with their loyalty scheme, such as Nando's where you can collect a stamp with every visit. Some chains like Pizza Express will send you discounts for special occasions, such as your birthday, if you sign up to their newsletter.
Voucher schemes - Look out for voucher schemes offered by third party firms, such as Meerkat Meals. If you compare and buy a product through CompareTheMarket.com then you'll be rewarded with access to the discount scheme. You'll get 2 for 1 meals at certain restaurants through Sunday to Thursday.
Student discounts - If you're in full-time education or a member of the National Students Union then you may be able to get a discount of up to 15 per cent off the bill. It's always worth asking before you place your order.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
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