Quick Answer: The high street giant is trimming a small slice of its hospitality estate this year. Marks and Spencer will close 14 in-store cafés in 2026, hitting 13 sites in England and one in Scotland. The space is being handed over to food and everyday products, and no jobs are being lost.
The move forms part of a wider store restructuring plan. M&S says the aim is to “provide more product choice and improve the shopping experience”. Some have already served their last brew.
Key Points
- 14 cafés are shutting: 13 English sites and one in Scotland.
- That is roughly 4% of the retailer’s 316 food locations.
- M&S operates over 300 cafés, coffee shops and coffee-to-go kiosks.
- Staff are being redeployed, not made redundant.
- The space becomes fresh produce and wider food ranges.
- It sits inside a £300 million plan for 420 food halls by 2028.
Why Marks and Spencer Will Close 14 In-Store Cafés in 2026
Small food stores have limited floor space. A café table uses room that could hold fresh produce or ready meals. The Barn Road café in Congleton, Cheshire, was one of the first to go, as reported by the Mirror.
Customer feedback also shows strong demand for a wider M&S range.
Regional manager Katie Whelan explained the thinking. She said, “After reviewing our Congleton store, we are repurposing the café space in-store to provide more product choice and improve the shopping experience. We understand this will be disappointing news for some of our customers; however, our teams will continue working hard to serve them in-store.”
Full List of M&S Cafés Closing in 2026
| Café | Area |
| Anlaby (already closed) | East Riding of Yorkshire |
| Hull | East Riding of Yorkshire |
| Crawley | West Sussex |
| Dunblane | Stirling, Scotland |
| Congleton | Cheshire |
| Bidston Moss | Cheshire |
| Stone | Staffordshire |
| Martlesham Heath | Ipswich |
| Bishop Auckland | Durham |
| South Aylesford | Kent |
| Strood Retail Park | Kent |
| Whitstable | Kent |
| Canterbury | Kent |
| Sittingbourne Retail Park | Kent |
Kent takes the heaviest hit with five closures. Coverage by Yorkshire Live flagged the two Yorkshire sites, with Anlaby already shut.
Moreover, the Bolton Middlebrook café was also shut down on 19 April 2026. The closure is being connected to a big redevelopment plan. Don’t consider it a permanent loss of the M&S.
What Shoppers are Losing
M&S cafés serve coffee, sandwiches and hot meals. They also run daily deals for families and older shoppers: a 10% senior discount for over-60s, a children’s menu at £4.50, and a free slice of cake for parents in the mornings.
What M&S Has Said About Staff and Space
No redundancies are planned. Café workers are moving to other roles inside the business. An M&S spokesperson told Metro last October: “As we look to modernise our food business and offer the best of M&S Food to more people, more often, we’re investing in our store estate to give our customers the widest possible product range.
“This includes opening brand-new coffee shops offering delicious food and barista-made fairtrade coffee, including at our brand-new Bristol Cabot Circus store.”
So this move is a reshuffle, not the end of coffee at M&S.
The £300 Million Food Hall Push
M&S is spending £300 million to grow its food hall estate to 420 sites by the end of 2028.
An earlier statement, reported by Time Out in August 2025, put the figure at 11 small food stores. It has since risen to 14. The affected cafés all sit in smaller food shops, not the larger full-line branches where cafés remain popular.
New M&S Stores Opening in 2026
The retailer is still growing. As the Express noted, it closed its historic Bath store after 93 years, then opened a new one nearby.
| New store | Type | Date |
| Bath Southgate | Full-line | Opened 4 February |
| Putney High Street | Food | Opened 25 February |
| Hatfield Oldings Corner | Food | TBC |
| Luton, Bramingham | Food | TBC |
| Farnham | Food | TBC |
| Abingdon Fairacres | Food | TBC |
| Godalming | Food | TBC |
Two of the new sites are in Surrey and one is in Oxfordshire.
How Customers Have Reacted
The response has been blunt. One shopper wrote: “Nearly always used to do our shopping then go to the cafe. Staff reckon they’ve lost customers because of the cafe closing.”
Another added: “They have closed the cafe in my local store and used the space to make a self-checkout area. Hate it.”
Why Supermarket Cafés Are Struggling
M&S is not alone. Sainsbury’s shut all its remaining in-store cafés, and Morrisons closed 51 of its own. Emily Keogh, founder of the PR agency Palm, believes habits have shifted.
She said, “The traditional in-store café was functional – a place to pause during a shop – but as so much retail has moved online, people are browsing less in store. This means every choice they make about hospitality brands when shopping is now less functional and far more considered, aligning with the broader change in consumer mindset when it comes to physical shopping.”
Paul McHugh, head of sales EMEA at Ericsson, pointed to technology. He warned: “Unfortunately, many retailers are struggling to effectively deploy these technology solutions due to connectivity issues.”
The Wider Backdrop
A cyber attack last year saw hackers take some customer data. Online orders and Click & Collect stopped for nearly two months. M&S put the cost at about £300 million, with insurance covering part of it.
The chain also confirmed the closure of its underperforming Swansea branch. Elsewhere on the high street, New Look and The Original Factory Shop are shutting sites too.
FAQs
Q. How many M&S cafés are closing in 2026?
A. Fourteen. Thirteen sit in England and one is in Dunblane, Scotland. That equals about 4% of the retailer’s 316 food locations.
Q. Why is M&S closing its cafés?
A. The space is being repurposed for more products. M&S says it wants a wider food range and a better shopping experience.
Q. Will M&S café staff lose their jobs?
A. No, the retailer says affected employees are being redeployed to other roles within the business rather than made redundant.
Q. Are all M&S cafés shutting down?
A. No, M&S still runs over 300 cafés, coffee shops and coffee-to-go kiosks. Only smaller food stores are affected this time.
Q. What did M&S cafés offer?
A. Coffee, sandwiches and hot meals, plus a 10% senior discount, a £4.50 children’s menu and a free morning cake slice for parents.
Q. Is M&S opening new stores in 2026?
A. Yes. Bath Southgate and Putney High Street have opened, with further food halls planned for Hatfield, Luton, Farnham, Abingdon and Godalming.
Sources & References:
- Mirror – The Barn Road café in Congleton, Cheshire, was one of the first to close.
- Express – M&S closed its historic Bath store after 93 years, then opened a new one nearby.
- Yorkshire Live – There are two M&S cafes in Yorkshire, one of which, Anlaby, has already shut.
- Metro – They have closed to modernise the food business and offer the best of M&S Food to more customers.
