Marks And Spencer Cafe Closures 2026: Full List, Reasons And Latest Updates
• July 29, 2026
Quick Answer: Which Marks And Spencer Cafes Are Closing?
A widely reported list of Marks and Spencer cafe closures names 14 locations across England and Scotland. However, the list combines M&S cafés that had already closed with cafés expected to close, and it does not provide an individual closure date for every branch.
Other café removals have subsequently been announced in places including Waterlooville, Bolton Middlebrook and Harrogate Oatlands. Therefore, the figure of 14 should not be treated as a definitive total for all M&S cafes closing in 2026.
A café closure also does not necessarily mean that the adjoining Marks & Spencer store is closing. At several locations, M&S is repurposing the café area to expand its Foodhall, bakery or product range.
Key Takeaways:
- Fourteen locations were named in the main list of Marks and Spencer cafe closures 2026.
- The list includes cafés that had already closed and cafés due to close.
- Exact closure dates have not been published for every affected location.
- The closure of an M&S café does not automatically mean the whole store is shutting.
- Café space is commonly being converted into additional Foodhall or bakery space.
- Separate announcements indicate that the number of affected cafés extends beyond the original list.
- M&S continues to operate cafés and is also introducing bakery and takeaway coffee counters at some newer stores.
- Customers should check the official M&S store finder before making a special journey.
Full List Of Marks And Spencer Cafe Closures In 2026
The main national list was published in February 2026 and repeated by several news organisations during the following months. It identified 14 M&S cafés that had already closed or were expected to close.
The reporting did not establish an exact closure date or present-day operating status for every location. The entries should therefore be understood as a reported affected-location list rather than a live timetable of closures.
M&S Cafes Reported As Closed Or Due To Close
| M&S Location | Town Or Region | Status Given In Main Reports | Exact Closure Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crawley | West Sussex | Closed or due to close | Not specified |
| Dunblane | Stirling, Scotland | Closed or due to close | Not specified |
| Congleton | Cheshire | Due to close when reported | Not confirmed |
| Stone | Staffordshire | Closed or due to close | Not specified |
| Anlaby | East Riding of Yorkshire | Closed or due to close | Not specified |
| Hull | East Riding of Yorkshire | Closed or due to close | Not specified |
| Martlesham Heath | Ipswich area | Closed or due to close | Not specified |
| Bidston Moss | Wirral | Closed or due to close | Not specified |
| Bishop Auckland | County Durham | Closed or due to close | Not specified |
| South Aylesford | Kent | Closed or due to close | Not specified |
| Strood Retail Park | Kent | Closed or due to close | Not specified |
| Whitstable | Kent | Closed or due to close | Not specified |
| Canterbury | Kent | Closed or due to close | Not specified |
| Sittingbourne Retail Park | Kent | Closed or due to close | Not specified |
The published list contains 13 locations in England and one in Scotland. No London branch appeared on that particular list.
Congleton was one of the locations for which a future change was specifically described.
M&S said it had reviewed the Barn Road store and intended to repurpose the café area to provide a wider selection of food products and improve the shopping experience.
An exact date had not been confirmed in the reporting available at the time.
Other M&S Cafe Closures Reported Separately
At least three café changes have been reported separately from the original 14-location list.
| Location | Reported Development | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Waterlooville, Wellington Retail Park | Café area to become expanded Foodhall space | Announced in February 2026; exact closure date not reported |
| Bolton Middlebrook | Café closed during a wider redevelopment | Closed on 19 April 2026 |
| Harrogate Oatlands | Café space to be used for fresh produce and an improved bakery | Closure announced for later in 2026 |
M&S confirmed that the café at Wellington Retail Park in Waterlooville would be removed to make room for additional Foodhall space. The report published on 27 February did not give a precise closing date.
The Bolton Middlebrook café closed on 19 April 2026. The closure was connected to a larger redevelopment of the store rather than the permanent loss of the entire M&S branch.
At Harrogate Oatlands, M&S said the café area would be used to expand the store’s fresh-produce offer and improve its bakery.
The company also said affected café colleagues would move into other Foodhall roles and that customers could still use the café at its Cambridge Street store in Harrogate.
These subsequent announcements demonstrate why searches for an M&S cafe closures full list may produce different totals. The original list captured a particular group of reported changes, but it was not presented as an exhaustive, permanently fixed register of every café removal.
Why Are Marks And Spencer Cafes Closing?
Marks & Spencer is closing selected cafés primarily because it wants to use the available floor space for a wider food range.
M&S has said that it prioritises the appropriate amount of Clothing, Home and Food selling space before deciding whether a store should include a café.
It also says the type of café or coffee service offered depends on the size, location and customer profile of each store.
That store-by-store policy helps explain why some traditional cafés are being removed while others remain open. It also explains why certain new Foodhalls offer takeaway coffee counters rather than full sit-down cafés.
More Space For M&S Foodhall Products
At affected stores, former café areas may be used for:
- A wider fresh-food selection
- Additional fruit and vegetables
- A larger in-store bakery
- More chilled or frozen products
- Food-to-go ranges
- Additional retail shelving
- Takeaway drinks or smaller coffee counters
The precise replacement varies by branch. At Congleton, the stated objective was to offer more product choice. At Waterlooville, the café was being replaced by expanded Foodhall space. At Harrogate Oatlands, the plans included more fresh produce and an improved bakery.
M&S Store Renewal And Property Strategy
The Marks and Spencer cafe closures are taking place alongside a much broader programme of store openings, relocations, renewals and closures.
M&S has said it is working towards an estate of approximately 180 full-line stores and 420 Food stores. It is particularly seeking larger Foodhall sites, with an average target size of about 18,000 square feet, so that more branches can stock a greater proportion of the M&S Food range.
This strategy is not simply a closure programme. M&S is simultaneously opening and renewing stores. Its March 2026 update described new larger-format Food stores in Hatfield, Luton and Farnham, alongside a renewed store in Chelmsford.
The café changes should therefore be viewed as part of a wider effort to alter the size, layout and function of individual stores.
Are Traditional Cafes Being Replaced By Coffee Counters?
Some M&S stores are replacing or supplementing traditional café formats with smaller bakery and coffee counters.
The new larger Foodhalls opened in March 2026 included in-store bakeries and coffee counters serving barista-made drinks. This indicates that the retailer is not withdrawing from coffee service altogether, even where a full sit-down café is not included.
M&S says it remains one of the UK’s largest high-street coffee retailers, with more than 300 cafés serving over 32 million customers annually.
That company figure appears in its AGM information and should be read as a corporate statement rather than a live count of cafés operating on 29 July 2026.
The available evidence supports a shift towards different formats based on each store’s available space. It does not support a claim that all M&S cafés are closing.
Is The Whole M&S Store Closing?
In most reported cases, only the café is affected.
A café removal may form part of a Foodhall expansion or store refurbishment while the rest of the branch continues trading. Readers should not assume that a headline about an M&S café closure means that Clothing, Home or Food departments are also closing.
Cafe Closure Versus Full Store Closure
Four different types of M&S property announcement can easily be confused:
- Café closure: The café is removed, but the store continues trading.
- Store refurbishment: Parts of the branch temporarily close or move while building work takes place.
- Store relocation: An existing branch closes when a replacement opens elsewhere.
- Permanent store closure: The entire M&S branch stops trading without a direct replacement at the same site.
The reported 14-location list concerns cafés, not the confirmed permanent closure of all 14 adjoining stores.
M&S describes its wider store-rotation strategy as a mixture of closures, relocations and conversions. This is separate from the question of whether an individual store retains its café.
What Will Replace The Cafe Space?
There is no single replacement plan covering every affected café.
Confirmed or reported uses include expanded Foodhall ranges, fresh produce, bakery sections and additional product displays.
Some stores may retain access to takeaway drinks through an alternative counter, but this should not be assumed unless the facility is shown on the store’s current listing or confirmed locally.
What Happens To M&S Cafe Employees?
The employment outcome depends on the individual location and should not be generalised without supporting evidence.
Reporting about the 11-café programme announced in October 2025 said affected employees would be reassigned to other roles within their existing stores.
The programme involved cafés in smaller food-only branches and was described as affecting fewer than 4% of the retailer’s food-store estate at that time.
At Harrogate Oatlands, M&S specifically said that all café colleagues would move into roles elsewhere in the Foodhall.
Redeployment Within The Store
Possible arrangements may include:
- Moving into Foodhall customer-service roles
- Working in bakery or food-to-go sections
- Transferring to another department
- Changing duties during a store refurbishment
- Moving to another local branch where agreed
These possibilities should not be presented as confirmed for every location. Employment consultation and redeployment arrangements may differ from store to store.
What Remains Unconfirmed?
The available national closure lists do not provide a detailed staff outcome for each of the 14 locations.
Claims about redundancies should therefore be treated cautiously unless they are supported by an M&S statement, an employee consultation document or reliable location-specific reporting.
The confirmed redeployment arrangements at one store do not automatically apply to every Marks and Spencer cafe closure.
When Will The M&S Cafes Close?
There is no single national closure date.
The main 14-location list describes cafés that had already closed or were due to close. It does not divide all locations into those two categories or provide a date for each branch.
Confirmed Closure Dates
Among the separately reported locations, Bolton Middlebrook had a clearly stated date: its café closed on 19 April 2026.
Other locations may have closed before or after that date, but exact dates should not be inferred where reliable public confirmation is unavailable.
Locations Without A Confirmed Date
Appropriate wording for locations without a published timetable includes:
- “Reported as due to close”
- “Listed among affected cafés”
- “No exact closure date has been publicly confirmed”
- “Current operating status should be checked with the store”
This distinction is particularly important for AI search results, which may reproduce an older article without making clear when it was published or whether a planned closure has since taken place.
How To Check Whether Your Local M&S Cafe Is Open?
Customers can take the following steps:
- Open the official M&S store finder.
- Search for the relevant town or branch.
- Review the services and departments listed for that location.
- Check the branch’s current opening hours.
- Contact the store directly when the café status is unclear.
- Look for refurbishment notices or recent local announcements.
The M&S store finder provides opening hours, services and department information for individual stores, Foodhalls, Simply Food branches and outlets.
Store-finder information can change as refurbishment work progresses. Contacting the branch before making a dedicated journey is therefore sensible, particularly when the café is the main reason for visiting.
How Do the 2025 And 2026 Closure Figures Differ?
Reports published in October 2025 said M&S would close cafés in 11 smaller food-only stores. The space was expected to be used to expand food ranges, while affected employees were reportedly due to be reassigned within the stores.
By February 2026, national reports were listing 14 affected locations. Later reports continued to repeat the 14-site figure.
Earlier Reports Of 11 Cafe Closures
The 11-café announcement concerned a defined programme in smaller Foodhall locations. However, the readily available reports reviewed for this article do not provide enough evidence to map every one of those 11 cafés against every location in the later 14-site list.
It would therefore be misleading to add 11 and 14 together and claim that 25 distinct cafés were closing.
Why Later Reports Mention 14 Locations?
The most defensible interpretation is that the 14-location coverage represents a later or broader compilation of cafés already closed or due to close.
It may include some locations connected with the earlier programme, but the available evidence does not establish the extent of any overlap.
Separate announcements for Waterlooville, Bolton Middlebrook and Harrogate Oatlands further show that café changes have continued on a location-by-location basis.
What Do The Cafe Closures Mean For M&S Customers?
For customers, the immediate effect is the loss of a sit-down place for coffee, meals or social meetings at the affected branch.
This can be particularly significant for older customers, people with mobility needs and shoppers who use an in-store café as a regular community meeting point. Reporting from Bolton described concern about the loss of a comfortable local social space.
Other customers may benefit from a wider Foodhall range, larger bakery or improved fresh-food department after the work is completed. The balance between those benefits and the loss of café seating will depend on how each customer uses the store.
Some affected branches may continue to offer takeaway coffee, but availability must be verified individually.
Are More Marks And Spencer Cafe Closures Expected?
Further café changes are possible as M&S continues to renew and rotate its store estate. However, no unannounced location should be described as closing merely because it appears in a refurbishment programme or operates from a smaller site.
The company’s stated policy is to determine café provision according to the amount of Clothing, Home and Food space required and the size, location and profile of the store.
That policy means future renewals could result in some cafés being removed, retained, redesigned or replaced by smaller coffee counters. It does not provide a basis for predicting which specific branch will be affected next.
Conclusion
The Marks and Spencer cafe closures 2026 include 14 locations named in a widely reported national list, as well as later changes announced separately in Waterlooville, Bolton and Harrogate.
The key point is that the original list combined cafés that had closed with cafés expected to close, without publishing an exact date for every branch. It should not be treated as a complete live register of all M&S café changes.
Most of the reported developments concern the café area rather than the closure of the whole store. M&S is commonly using the space to expand Foodhall ranges, fresh produce or bakery departments as part of its wider store-renewal strategy.
Customers asking, “Is my local M&S cafe closing?” should check the official store listing and contact the branch for the latest location-specific information.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Marks And Spencer Cafes Are Closing In 2026?
The main reported list names Crawley, Dunblane, Congleton, Stone, Anlaby, Hull, Martlesham Heath, Bidston Moss, Bishop Auckland, South Aylesford, Strood Retail Park, Whitstable, Canterbury and Sittingbourne Retail Park. The list includes cafés that had already closed and cafés due to close.
Why Is Marks And Spencer Closing Its Cafes?
M&S is removing selected cafés to create more space for food products, fresh produce, bakeries or other customer facilities. The decision depends on the size, location and customer profile of each store.
Are All M&S Cafes Closing?
No. M&S says it operates more than 300 cafés, and some new stores include bakery and coffee counters. The closures concern selected locations rather than the complete removal of M&S café services.
Is The Whole M&S Store Closing With The Cafe?
Usually not. In many reported cases, the store remains open while the café area is converted into additional Foodhall or bakery space.
How Many M&S Cafes Are Closing?
Fourteen locations appeared in the main 2026 list, but additional café changes were reported separately. Fourteen should therefore not be treated as a definitive total for every M&S café affected during the year.
When Will The Affected M&S Cafes Close?
There is no single national closure date. The main list did not provide a date for every café. Bolton Middlebrook’s café closed on 19 April 2026, while other locations had different or unspecified timetables.
What Will Replace The Closed M&S Cafes?
Replacement plans include expanded Foodhall ranges, more fresh produce, larger bakeries and additional product space. The exact use differs by location.
What Will Happen To M&S Cafe Employees?
Some employees have been redeployed into other store roles. This was reported for the earlier 11-café programme and confirmed for Harrogate Oatlands, but the outcome should be checked separately for each location.
Sources
- Marks & Spencer AGM FAQs covering café provision and store formats.
- Marks & Spencer store-renewal and Foodhall expansion strategy.
- February 2026 national list of 14 reported café closures.
- Waterlooville café and Foodhall announcement.
- Bolton Middlebrook café closure report.
- Harrogate Oatlands café announcement.
- October 2025 reporting on the earlier 11-café programme.
- Official M&S store finder.
