Morrisons to close Connah’s Quay café in cost-cutting move

Morrisons has confirmed it will close the café at its Connah’s Quay store as part of a UK-wide shake-up affecting dozens of branches and in-store services.

The Flintshire outlet is one of 52 cafés set to shut, along with 17 convenience stores and all 18 of the supermarket’s Market Kitchens.

A total of 365 jobs are at risk across the company, though Morrisons says most affected staff will be offered roles elsewhere within the business.

The decision follows what the supermarket described as a “wide-ranging review” of services which found that some operations were no longer viable due to low usage and high running costs.

Also set to close are 35 meat counters, 35 fish counters, 13 florists, and four in-store pharmacies.

Rami Baitiéh, Chief Executive of Morrisons, said: “The changes we are announcing are a necessary part of our plans to renew and reinvigorate Morrisons and enable us to focus our investment into the areas that customers really value.”

He added: “Morrisons Cafés are rightly famous for their great quality, well-priced food and their place in the local community. In most locations the Morrisons Café has a bright future, but a minority have specific local challenges and in those locations, regrettably, closure and re-allocation of the space is the only sensible option.”

The Connah’s Quay café has been a fixture for shoppers in the town and its closure is likely to be felt locally, particularly among older customer who use it as a social hub.

The supermarket said it will work with third-party providers to bring in new offers where services are being withdrawn, though details have yet to be confirmed for the Connah’s Quay site.

“We will of course take particular care to look after all of [our colleagues] well through the coming changes,” Mr Baitiéh said.