Morrisons CEO Rami Baitieh has defended the supermarket giant’s decision to close a number of its cafes and fresh food counters. He said the move is a “necessary part” of plans to “renew and reinvigorate” the chain by focusing on what shoppers truly want.

While most Morrisons cafes will remain open with a “bright future,” a small number face local challenges that left closures as the “only sensible option,” Baitieh revealed.

Market Street Food Model to Stay—but Not Everywhere

The chief executive stressed the company’s commitment to the Market Street concept, which offers fresh takeaway meals like pizza, pies, and rotisserie chicken in select stores. However, he admitted parts of the operation are “simply uneconomic.”

Some fresh food counters and cafes will be replaced by specialist third-party vendors as Morrisons looks to slim down less profitable areas.

“Although these changes are relatively small in the context of the overall scale of the Morrisons business, we do not take lightly the disruption and uncertainty they will cause to some of our colleagues,” Baitieh said. “We will of course take particular care to look after all of them well through the coming changes.”

Massive Impact Across UK Stores

Morrisons, the UK’s fifth-largest supermarket and employer of roughly 95,000 staff, is closing numerous cafes, florists, Market Kitchens, and pharmacies nationwide.

Cafes Facing the Chop

• Bradford (Thornbury)
• London (Queensbury, Wood Green, Erith, Harrow Hatch End, Stratford, Sidcup Westwood Lane)
• Glasgow (Newlands)
• North East (Newcastle UT Cowgate)
• Various other locations across England, Scotland and Wales

Florists Closing Nationwide

• Aberdeen (King Street)
• Bradford (Enterprise 5)
• Canning Town, London
• Sheffield (Meadowhead)
• Sunderland (Doxford Park)
• And more

Market Kitchens and Pharmacies Also Hit

• Market Kitchens in Aberdeen, Camden Town, Leeds, Milton Keynes, and more
• Pharmacies closing in Birmingham (Small Heath), London (Wood Green), Blackburn, and Bradford

Already Closed: Morrisons Daily Stores

• Gorleston, Norfolk
• Peebles, Scottish Borders
• Shenfield, Essex
• Tonbridge, Kent
• Woking, Surrey
• Bath, Somerset
• Haxby, North Yorkshire (May 14)
• And more across the UK

This sweeping restructuring aims to sharpen Morrisons’ focus on fresh food and customer favourites while cutting losses on underperforming sites. But it comes with a human cost, as staff face uncertainty and store communities lose local services.