Marks & Spencer is pressing ahead with a £300m store revamp, and a chunk of that shake-up lands squarely on the in‑store cafés. Some will go, some will morph, space will be reworked. For regulars who plan their shop around a flat white and a sit‑down, this isn’t a footnote — it’s a rewrite of the weekly ritual.
The morning rush at the Holborn store used to sound like a quiet kitchen: plates lifted, milk steamed, hushed chats over teacakes. A woman with a pram would time her shop to the nap. Two pensioners always chose the corner table, splitting a toasted teacake and the gossip. On a wet Tuesday, the café felt like an umbrella everyone shared.
Now, the floor plan sketches taped to a back wall tell a new story — more space for food, wider aisles, a compact coffee-to-go nook where the counter once stood. The hum is moving. Something familiar is about to feel different.
And that’s where the real change sits.
What’s actually changing — and why it matters
M&S is streamlining space, pushing square footage towards food, click-and-collect and faster checkout points. Cafés won’t vanish everywhere, but many will shrink or be replaced by grab-and-go coffee bays and hot food to take away. Think fewer tables, more baskets. The goal is clear: speed and availability where customers spend most of their time.
The revamp also tweaks the rhythm of a shop. Aisles get wider, signage gets cleaner, hot counters and bakery “theatre” step forward. You’ll likely see more self-serve tills and brighter fresh aisles where a latte stop once lived. For some stores, a limited seating corner may survive at peak family locations or flagships. For others, the sit‑down moment gives way to an espresso button and back to the trolley.
Behind the scenes, the logic is classic retail. Food is growing, clothing is increasingly click‑and‑collect, and cafés in mid-size stores can be space-hungry. Every square metre has to earn its keep. By reallocating to high-demand categories, stock can be deeper, choice broader, and queues shorter. Loyal café teams won’t simply evaporate — many will shift into foodhall roles, hot food prep, or customer service. The promise to shoppers: more choice on shelves, less waiting, better flow. The trade-off: less linger time.
How it will feel on your next visit — stories from the shop floor
Picture a Saturday with the kids. Before, you’d park the trolley, order toast, and reset. The new layout nudges you to pick up a hot sausage roll, tap your coffee at a machine, and keep moving. It’s not worse, just different. Quicker if you’re clock-watching. Tricker if you need that pause.
We’ve all had that moment when the café is the bribe that gets a toddler through the fruit aisle. It might now be a treat grabbed at the end, enjoyed on a bench, or in the car home. Staff say the busiest hours often collide with lunch; diverting some of that café queue into food-to-go can unclog the shop. Less milling; more momentum. The sensory cues shift, too — more bakery aroma, fewer clinking cups.
For older shoppers and social regulars, the change is more personal. A café in a department store isn’t just caffeine. It’s a small ritual, a soft landing after bills and buses. That community piece hasn’t been forgotten, just reinterpreted. Some stores will keep seating where it’s clearly used. Others might host events — tasting tables, recipe demos — in the footprint that used to be rows of tables. The social energy doesn’t disappear; it’s being redirected.
Making the new M&S work for you
Start by re-mapping your usual loop. Hit the bakery first if hot loaves are your magnet, then swing to produce while the rush moves on. If you’re a coffee-before-anything person, try the coffee-to-go bay right as you enter, lid on, list out. It sets a tempo and stops that mid-shop slump.
Batch your clicks and your baskets. Order clothing to store for midweek, pick up at the quieter end of the foodhall, and pair it with a quick lunch from the hot counter. Let’s be honest: no one actually does that every day. But when you do, it’s a smoother sprint. If you’re with kids, shift the promise: snack at the exit, not a sit‑down halfway. Small tweak, big difference in mood and pace.
“I’ll miss the long sit‑downs, but the bigger food choice helps my weekly shop land under budget,” says one regular we met at the tills. “If I can still get a decent coffee on the way round, I’ll adapt.”
- Look for quieter corners near homeware or seasonal aisles if you need a breather — stores often add perches there.
- Use the app for quick vouchers and to find aisle locations — it trims laps.
- Swap sit‑down treats for bakery takeaways you can enjoy outside or at home without the queue.
The bigger picture for British high streets
This isn’t just about a cappuccino. It’s about how legacy retailers stay relevant when groceries are a fast game and fashion is a click away. By funnelling investment into food, logistics and digital service points, M&S is betting that convenience and choice beat table service in most postcodes. That’s not heartless; it’s the math of modern retail.
There’s an emotional wrinkle, though. Cafés hosted first dates, toddler meltdowns, and the “see you next Tuesday” friendships. That matters. If you’re feeling a tiny pang, you’re not alone. *The clink of cups will fade; the trolleys will hum.*
Will it work? If shelves stay full at 6pm, if hot food is genuinely hot, if coffee-to-go tastes like coffee, shoppers will forgive the lost tables. If the revamp is just shinier signs and fewer seats, it’ll jar. The watchout is simple: keep the human bits — smiles, help, a place to pause — even as the floor plan speeds up.
Where this leaves shoppers — and what to watch next
Change rarely lands all at once. Over the next waves of refits, you’ll notice the tweaks first: a new bakery counter, a re-sited coffee machine, a tighter seating area or none at all. Some towns will keep a full café because it plainly earns its space. Others will lean fully into grab‑and‑go and larger foodhalls.
What should you watch? Taste and timing. If the coffee’s good and the queues shrink, the trade feels fair. If you see expanded meal deals, smarter dine‑in promos and fresher late‑day shelves, the £300m is doing its job. And if you still need a sit‑down, you might just find a quiet corner where the store has tucked a few chairs — a small nod to old habits.
| Key points | Details | Interest for reader |
|---|---|---|
| £300m revamp refocuses space | More square footage to food, click-and-collect, faster checkouts | Faster shop, deeper choice at peak times |
| Cafés to be axed or downsized | Some seating removed, coffee-to-go and hot counters expanded | Shift from sit‑down to grab‑and‑go routine |
| Human experience still in play | Staff redeployed, potential quiet corners and events | Familiar faces, new ways to pause and connect |
FAQ :
- Are all M&S Cafés closing?Not everywhere. Expect a mix: some closures, some downsizes, and a few flagships keeping full cafés where they’re clearly used.
- What replaces the café in my store?Typically a blend of wider food aisles, hot food to go, coffee machines, and more self‑checkout points. Layouts vary by location.
- Will prices change because of the revamp?There’s no blanket price change tied to the refit. The focus is on availability, speed and sharper promotions in food.
- What happens to café staff?Many roles are expected to shift into foodhall, hot food and customer service positions. Your familiar faces often stay on the shop floor.
- Can I still use gift cards or café vouchers?Standard M&S gift cards work across the store, including food and coffee-to-go. If you have specific café promos, check store notices for alternatives.
I get the logic of ££ per square metre, but losing sit‑down space hits the community hard. My mum meets friends at the M&S café weekly; a grab‑and‑go bay wont replace that. Will there be proper quiet corners, not just perches? And are staff actually redeployed or quietly cut?