‘What a backward move’ cry shoppers as cafe chain with 473 stores closes TWO ‘concept’ branches after eight years

SHOPPERS have been left fuming after a cafe chain with 473 stores closed two “concept” branches after just eight years.

Pret A Manger have confirmed its remaining “Veggie Pret” sites in London will close.

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The two London shops, on Broadwick Street and Great Eastern Street, will convert on February 19.

It means the shop will pull down the shutters for the final time today.

Meanwhile, the Veggie Pret in Deansgate, Manchester, will convert on February 26.

A post on Facebook by Veggie Pret said: “Thank you, Veggie Pret

“It started with a tweet, and now here we are. We opened our first Veggie Pret in 2016 to help us get even better at making veggie and vegan-friendly recipes that everyone would love (not just veggies).

“Since we opened our doors, we’ve served thousands of vegans, vegetarians, flexitarians, and sometimes-itarains..

“So, what’s next? We’re turning our final three Veggie Pret Shops (Great Eastern Street and Broadwick Street in London and Deansgate in Manchester) into classic Pret shops, to share what we’ve learned about making brilliant meat-free food with even more customers, every day.”

Punters were quick to express their opinions on the latest change.

One wrote: “Depressing move.”

Another said: “What a backward move, very disappointing. Most prets now have such a poor choice of plant based stuff, hardly worth going in.”

“Pret used to be brilliant for veggie & vegan options but never much in there these days. Such a shame,” commented another user.

While a fourth simply said it was the “worst decision ever”.

The first Veggie Pret was opened in Soho, central London, in 2016 after a successful trial.

The company went on to open ten more and bought firm rival Eat to turn its outlets into branches catering solely for vegetarians or vegans.

But those plans were turned upside down as the pandemic and lockdowns destroyed the busy lunchtime trade near office blocks.

Bosses began shutting the Veggie branches or converting them into standard Prets, where products such as crayfish sarnies and chicken caesar baguettes remain bestsellers.

Katherine Bagshawe, UK food and coffee director at Pret A Manger, said: “Today, one in three of all our main meals sales are veggie or vegan-friendly.

“Every Pret shop is a Veggie Pret shop, with new vegetarian and vegan-friendly products coming onto our menu all the time.

“Our original Meatless Meatball Hot Wrap was born in Veggie Pret, yet it became a top five bestseller across the whole of Pret within its first week of launching, showing us how customers across all our shops want amazing veggie food.”

Veganism’s mainstream appeal has been partly helped by celebs such as pop star Ellie Goulding speaking about their plant-based diets.

Pret A Manger’s sandwich chain got itself in a pickle last year after charging £7.15 for “Britain’s worst-value baguette”.

The eat-in price tag has been slapped on Posh Cheddar and Pickle products at a London Tube station outlet.

Furious customers blasted the chain’s pricing on social media, branding it a “rip-off”.

The sandwich is nearly £1.50 cheaper if customers sign up for Club Pret membership for £30 a month.

A Pret spokeswoman insisted the £7.15 price, or £5.95 to eat out, was only in transport hubs, and most customers buy the baguette to take away for £4.95 in non-station outlets.

‘DEATH’ OF THE HIGH STREET

The hospitality sector has been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic while households are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis.

High energy costs and increased prices are also taking a toll and many high street restaurants and cafes have struggled to keep going.

We’ve seen a whole raft of closures over the past year and more are on their way.

Pubs like Wetherspoons and restaurants like Frankie & Benny’s and Chiquito shut their doors.

Costa Coffee on Edinburgh’s Bruntsfield Place ground its final bean this week as the store officially shut on Valentine’s Day.

Several major retail brands have also collapsed in the past couple of years, such as Wilko and Paperchase.

Most recently, The Body Shop confirmed it has gone into administration putting 200 stores at risk of closure.

More shoppers than ever are choosing to order online rather than head into stores.

This has left some retailers grappling with budgets and have no choice but to close stores to cut costs.

British retailers saw the amount of goods they sold drop last month at its fastest rate in three years as under-pressure families shifted part of their Christmas shop to earlier in the year.

Sales volumes dipped by 3.2 per cent in December, data from the Office for National Statistics suggests, down from a rise of 1.4 per cent a month before.

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk