Despite plans to open dozens of new stores, one university city is losing a branch that left local opinion divided, leaving some loyal customers disappointed.
Greggs is one of the most popular names on the high street (Image: Getty)
A Bakery giant with over 2,600 UK branches is set to close one of its locations in just hours, to the disappointment of residents. The popular pastry and sandwich chain is shutting the store in Cambridge on March 31.
The Greggs store on Fitzroy Street will close, with staff relocated to nearby branches where possible. Locals will still have the chance to enjoy a pastry in the area, as the nearest branch is just over a mile away, in Station Square. Disappointed customers of the branch have taken to social media to express their discontent with the decision this weekend.
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The Fitzroy Road branch of Greggs in Cambridge is closing down this weekend. (Image: Cambridge News)
Posting on Facebook, one said: “I nearly cried at reading the news that the Grafton Greggs is closing.”
Another, tagging a friend, commented: “Actually what do we do during exams lad.” Meanwhile a third simply added: “It’s over.”
However not everyone will be unhappy to see the back of this particular branch of Greggs. This particular outlet, according to TripAdvisor customer reviews, had “dirty tables” and “very rude staff.”
In 2022, it was rated 2.5 out of five, and led to it ranking as 120 out of 135 places to get a quick bite in the city.
Among the complaints, nine people have said the outlet is “terrible”, two as “poor” and another two branded the bakery beige as pastry “average”. One angry reviewer blasted the sausage roll-providing unit as “the worst in Britain”.
The Cambridge store is not the first Greggs branch to shut this year. Another in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, served its last sausage roll in January.
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Meanwhile, a Greggs shop on Foleshill Road, Coventry shut its doors for the final time at the start of the year.
Despite these store closures, the hugely popular and affordable bakery chain is still eyeing up major expansion plans.
The chain, which currently runs just over 2,600 stores, is planning to open another 150 shops across the UK this year.
Greggs CEO Roisin Currie said the chain would push forward with these plans despite financial pressures on the High Street this year. She said: “There are still places where you cannot access Greggs. We are confident in the continuing growth of Greggs.”
Ms Currie added that while “consumer confidence has fallen, disposable income has actually improved so I think we will see an improvement when consumer confidence improves”.
The comments came as Greggs celebrated more than £2billion of sales in 2024, an 11.3% increase on the previous year’s £1.8billion. The firm opened 226 shops in 2024.
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Other High Street chains are not faring so well. Recent data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows online retail sales increased from 5% of all retail sales in 2008 to 27% in 2022.
Shoppers have also been feeling the pinch following high inflation and interest rates, which has dented wallets and purses.
A House of Lords report published last year admitted the dominance of retail on high streets was “something of the past”.
The Centre for Retail’s latest analysis suggests 13,479 stores, the equivalent of 37 each day, shut for good in 2024.
Of those, 11,341 were independent shops while 2,138 were shut by larger retailers like Greggs.
Greggs emphasises the quality of its baked goods, often using fresh ingredients. Their items are made in-store, which appeals to customers looking for freshly prepared food.
