Morrisons to Close 54 Cafés Next Year

Morrisons has confirmed that 54 of its in-store cafés are to close next year, removing a familiar part of many shoppers’ weekly supermarket visit as operating costs increase and buying patterns change. Customers are being urged to look at local notice boards, where affected stores have begun displaying closure dates and details of what may replace hot meals and milky teas.

Why Morrisons is shutting 54 cafés next year

The café closures form part of a broader review of how Morrisons uses space in its supermarkets. Hot meals and cups of tea were once a key element of the traditional “big shop”. However, the retailer says many dining spaces now remain only partly occupied for extended periods.

Next year, 54 Morrisons cafés will shut at sites with low footfall or where expensive kitchen refits no longer stack up financially.

Higher energy costs, pay bills and ingredient prices have all raised the expense of operating fully equipped kitchens from breakfast through to late afternoon. Meanwhile, more customers pick up coffee before arriving at the supermarket, eat at home, or choose quick meal deals from chilled cabinets instead of sitting down for a fry-up.

Retail managers refer to “dwell time” – the amount of time shoppers spend in store. At many supermarkets, that time is now being spent with trolleys rather than over a plate of food. Customers are increasingly dropping in for a top-up shop or collecting online orders, rather than arranging a longer trip around a café break. Morrisons’ poorest-performing cafés have seldom returned to their pre-pandemic pattern. Strong Saturday trade does not make up for long, quiet weekdays, and the financial case has become difficult.

By closing dozens of cafés, Morrisons aims to release staff and floor space for areas that continue to grow, including bakery counters, ready-to-eat food, click-and-collect facilities and partner concessions. At certain branches, café areas may be reduced rather than removed altogether, or handed to a branded operator able to open for longer on a more limited menu.

What will happen to staff and regular customers?

Morrisons says this will not simply involve closing the doors and leaving. Where possible, the supermarket says café employees will be offered other positions, either in their existing store or at nearby branches.

Café colleagues are being steered towards roles in bakery, deli, front-of-house and online fulfilment, with retraining on offer in many cases.

Customers will feel the immediate effects most sharply in towns where the supermarket café also serves as a social meeting place. Coaches stop there, carers meet between appointments, and older shoppers structure their weekly routine around a bus journey, a large food shop and an inexpensive cooked breakfast.

Local managers are being encouraged to lessen the impact by retaining some seating or creating community corners. This could mean several tables near the bakery, a small hot-drink offer next to the counters, or access to a community room where groups can continue meeting after the main café closes.

Key things affected shoppers should do now

• Look at café notice boards for closure dates and final ordering times.
• Redeem café loyalty stamps and paper vouchers before the final trading week.
• Ask colleagues where seating and hot food will be available after the café has closed.
• If you belong to a regular group, ask the duty manager about alternative places to meet in store.
• Watch your More Card offers, as bakery or hot-counter promotions often appear during refurbishment work.

Morrisons gift cards generally apply throughout the wider store rather than solely in cafés. Customers with remaining balances should therefore still be able to use them for groceries, bakery products or hot-counter food once changes are made.

How the closures fit into changing shopping habits

Supermarket cafés were once a reassuring part of the high street: affordable, warm and dependable places to stop. That role has gradually been reduced by the rise of home coffee machines, high-street chains and convenience food.

Across the sector, café income at large supermarkets has been pressured by drive-through coffee, takeaway orders made through apps and more people working from home rather than buying lunch in retail parks. It is more difficult to defend the cost of a large kitchen and dozens of seats when the same floor space could accommodate a concession, click-and-collect point or additional chilled aisles.

Stores will not all take the same approach. Some Morrisons branches will retain full cafés where demand remains reliable, often at busy suburban locations or near major road routes. Others will move to simpler provisions, such as self-service coffee machines, pre-packed cakes and a small number of tables. A third category is likely to bring in external brands, using recognisable names and standardised menus to attract customers.

What shoppers can realistically expect next year

For customers whose usual Morrisons appears on the closure list, posters on notice boards and café entrances will be the first obvious sign. These commonly state the last day for cooked food service and may also give a broad indication of what will follow.

Expect a patchwork of outcomes: some cafés fully gone, some shrunk, some reborn as partner outlets or expanded hot counters.

While the work is under way, sections of affected stores may feel unsettled, with temporary partitions, closed seating areas and contractors shifting equipment. This period is usually brief, as supermarkets seek to limit lost sales during alterations.

For regular visitors who value the routine as much as the food, a practical response can help:

• Find out whether nearby Morrisons branches still have full cafés, then decide whether the additional journey is worthwhile.
• Consider independent cafés or community centres near bus stops as replacement meeting places.
• If the café is an important warm, affordable place for you, ask your local council or charities about “warm spaces” schemes, which commonly operate during winter.

What these changes tell us about modern supermarkets

Morrisons’ decision highlights how rapidly the balance between social areas and selling space is changing. For many years, in-store cafés acted as a quiet form of social support: somewhere warm where people were not hurried away from their table after buying a tea and scone.

As margins come under greater pressure, supermarkets must show that every square metre earns its keep. A café that is busy for only two hours each day is increasingly hard to justify if a partner coffee brand or an extra grocery aisle could provide more consistent income.

That does not necessarily mean the social function will vanish completely. Managers in smaller towns recognise that removing a café entirely can seem like taking away part of the community. The likely middle ground is modest: a few tables, plug sockets, self-service drinks and perhaps microwaveable snacks. It offers less formality but greater practicality.

For shoppers, the downside may be a more fragmented everyday routine. Rather than making one stop for food, warmth and conversation, people could need several places: a discount retailer for groceries, a chain coffee shop for somewhere to sit, and home for everything else. An additional bus fare or a higher coffee price can make a significant difference to pensioners and lower-income households that used supermarket cafés as an affordable third place between home and the street.

Conversely, a more streamlined model could help to keep prices lower across the rest of the supermarket. If closing underused cafés enables Morrisons to limit price rises on essential groceries, many customers may judge the compromise worthwhile while household budgets remain under strain.

One point is certain: how people shop and socialise around food continues to change. White mugs and yellow trays may not disappear altogether, but they are likely to become less common. Stores that retain a simple, welcoming corner, even without a complete kitchen, may earn quiet loyalty from customers seeking a warm seat, an uncomplicated brew and a familiar person behind the counter.