A cafe at an M&S in Kent along with the toilets are closing within weeks and people are upset. A large banner was put up inside the out-of-town M&S in Tunbridge Wells letting customers know the sad news.
Standing inside the store which is for home and food, in front of the entrance, it said: “Thank you and goodbye. This cafe will be closed down from September 1. A fond farewell from all of us at M&S Cafe Fountains Tunbridge Wells.”
People reacted to the information with dismay, as the M&S is on Longfield Road on the industrial estate and it is one of the few places with toilets and baby changing facilities. The cafe was hidden away, right at the back of the store.
M&S revealed in April it would no longer be selling in store most of its own-brand furniture including garden furniture, along with sofas, beds and wardrobes. There has been a sale at the store in Fountains Retail Park.
The North Farm estate, which is now officially referred to as a retail park, is home to several well-known brands, yet it is somewhat of a bathroom desert, even if eateries like McDonald’s, Costa Coffee, KFC, and B&Q have customer restrooms.
It is the only location in North Farm where mothers may “sit and have a coffee, got to the loos, moms could use the baby changing facilities, while shopping,” according to a mother who posted about it on Nextdoor.
A spokesperson for M&S said: “Following a review, we have decided to close our Fountains Retail Park Café. While we understand this will be disappointing news for some customers, all Café colleagues will continue working in other roles in store and we will continue to work hard serving customers across food, clothing and beauty.”
But as far as how the company will use the space previously occupied by furniture, it said there were no plans to share “at this stage”.
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