SHOPPERS have been left crying the “high street is dying” as a coffee chain gears up to close a branch inside an iconic department store.
Cavendish House, which opened over 200 years ago, is set to welcome in customers for the final time in mid-April.
AlamyA coffee chain is set to close a branch following an iconic department store shutting[/caption]
It will see the House of Fraser department store and Clarins Spa inside it close down permanently.
News the House of Fraser branch is shutting has already been met with devastation from local shoppers.
One branded the closure a “great shame” while another said it signified the “high street is dying”.
But Cavendish House shuttering its doors also means the Caffè Nero, inside the House of Fraser department store, will also close for good.
A spokesperson for Caffè Nero said: “Caffè Nero is closing because the House Of Fraser is closing. It’s the knock on effect.”
However, it’s not all bad news for the chain as staff from the site have been offered jobs at other branches in Cheltenham.
The spokesperson added: “We very much enjoy being part of the community in the town and we look forward to continuing to serve all our customers in one of our other beer by stores.”
It comes after 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.
Other coffee companies have been feeling the pinch too.
Costa Coffee is closing a store in Chiswick, London, today, meaning customers’ next nearest branch will be in Hammersmith.
Meanwhile, its store at Edinburgh’s Bruntsfield Place will serve its last latte on February 14.
It comes after it already shut the doors to dozens of its sites in recent months.
But it’s not all bad news for coffee chains, as Caffè Nero is also set to open its first ever 24-hour drive-thru at Stanstead Airport in the spring.
The new store will be found just 500 yards from the main terminal building on the main road into and out of the airport.
Meanwhile, Costa Coffee could be opening a branch in Ludlow, Shropshire, after closing a branch in May last year.
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