Stirchley residents share their thoughts on the closure of the Morrisons café, as the supermarket streamlines services across the UK. With Birmingham seeing several branches affected, the changes raise wider questions about job losses, community spaces, and the future of supermarkets.
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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.