00:00We're here in Sturchley, where the Morrisons Cafe has now closed its doors for good.
00:08It's one of dozens being shut down across the country, as the supermarket giant cuts
00:12back on services it says no longer make financial sense.
00:16Nationwide, more than 50 cafes, 35 meat and fish counters and several convenience stores
00:22are affected.
00:24Morrisons insists most staff will be offered alternative roles, but up to 365 jobs remain
00:29at risk.
00:30For regular customers though, this is about more than food or drink, it's about having
00:35somewhere familiar to sit, chat or take a break during the weekly shop, and that loss
00:40is being felt here.
00:42Well I think it's a shame because it's a local community round here and as you can see just
00:49walking past here now people are just chatting away and it's a way of going out of the house
00:54and meeting people.
00:56I think, I really do, I think it's a shame for the area.
01:00A lot of people come in specifically to use the cafe as well as do the shopping, I never
01:06have but a lot of people do and I think it will be a major inconvenience for them.
01:12The closure of the cafe won't particularly change our shopping habit, but I do feel that
01:17a lot of the shops and restaurants that are along the Perthshire Road, really lovely foods,
01:24really high quality but quite expensive.
01:28What's happening in Sturchley is part of a much bigger shift.
01:31Along with this cafe, Morrison's is also closing its market kitchen in Edgbaston, the cafe
01:36in Solihull and a convenience store in Great Bar.
01:40The supermarket says it's responding to changing habits, that fewer people are using these
01:45services and they're becoming too costly to run.
01:48Some spices could be taken over by other retailers, but not everyone's convinced.
01:53In places like this, the cafe isn't just a cafe, it's a quiet corner for pensioners,
01:58a break for parents or even a regular part of someone's weekly routine.
02:03I can understand in the cuts but in another way I can't, it's, well, I don't really know
02:10how to answer it or, what can I say, yeah, I'd still, well, no, I'd come here but I'd
02:21feel a bit grieved about it, you know, as people are losing their jobs, you know, and
02:26it's crazy.
02:28So I think it is, it's probably a bit short-sighted but it may be based on usage, so, yeah, if
02:35it's not being used, we're going to lose our earnings, so, yeah.
02:40It seems more like a knee-jerk reaction to the present economic climate. I think they
02:44could have waited a bit more to see if the economic turnout would have been a bit more
02:51better for them in a few months' time. This is done straight on top of a new budget.
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