A major supermarket has closed its butcher and fish counter at one of its stores. The move is the latest blow for the UK high street after a number of shop closures already this year.
It comes as Morrisons begins to shut cafes, counters, and stores due to rising costs. The butcher and fish counter at the supermarket in Beach Street, Herne Bay, has closed counters for good on Monday. Other Morrisons stores across the country are expected to follow suit over the coming weeks.
Morrisons announced last month that it will shut 52 cafes and 17 Morrisons Daily stores. It added that 18 Market Kitchens, 13 florists, 35 meat counters, 35 fish counters and four pharmacies will shut.
The changes mean that the jobs of 365 workers will be put at risk. Rami Baitiéh, chief executive of Morrisons, said: "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."
A number of Morrisons shoppers have reacted to the latest closure on social media. One said: "Oh no….love their meat and fish counter and the staff are so friendly and helpful. Sad news."
A second wrote: "I am really sorry to hear this. It was bad enough losing Morrisons in Faversham.
"The butcher at both branches have supplied us with quality meat at reasonable prices for years. It was always the reason we chose to shop at Morrisons. Thank you to the staff for their excellent service."
Earlier this month, Morrisons closed 16 of its supermarkets as part of restructuring plans which aim at cutting costs. The retailer said: "Morrisons has made the difficult decision to close some Morrisons Daily stores, some of which contain Post Offices.
"We fully recognise the inconvenience this will cause for our customers and apologise for the short notification as these branches close between April 9 and May 14. We have reviewed Post Office provision in these areas and for most of these affected branches we are advertising the vacancies."
