Costa Coffee is set to close one of its cafes tomorrow. The chain will pull down the shutters on its Lyme Regis branch in Dorset on April 24.
The coffee shop first opened in Lyme Regis in 2012 after it took over the site from estate agents Fortnam, Smith and Bennett. fans have been reacting to the news on social media. One person said: "This is really sad news."
Another said: "Hope the Costa staff find other jobs, they're lovely." A third said: "That won't help the high street! Another empty shop!" A spokesperson for Costa said: “We can confirm that our Costa Coffee store in Lyme Regis will be closing its doors for trade on 24 April.”
It follows a string of closures for Costa, including its Shell Highworth Service station branch which closed earlier this week on April 20. Costa still has more than 2,000 branches across the UK.
It comes as Costa announced the return of its Iced Whipped Lattes, which are now back on the menu as a permanent item. Iced Whipped Lattes feature a layer of whipped coffee, combined with either dairy milk or a plant-based alternative. They are available in white chocolate and caramel.
But in not-so-good news, Costa has confirmed that it no longer offers customers the option to heat up their cinnamon bun after the chain received several complaints of people burning their mouths on the hot icing.
The cinnamon bun is a sweet bun swirled with cinnamon filling, decorated with cream cheese icing and dusted with cinnamon powder. One X/ user asked the company: "Why can’t I get my cinnamon bun (best there is) heated? If it's because of stupid H&S issues regarding hot icing, then why can you have hot cheese in your toasties?"
In response to the comment, Costa said: "We have had several reports of customers burning their mouths on the icing, so we have had to advise our teams not to heat these up anymore. We do apologise for any disappointment caused.”
On the official Costa page, one fan fumed: "It's a sad reflection that the great British public can't be trusted to eat with care, if you have asked for your food to be heated up, you surely can check for yourself that it's not too hot to eat. Cinnamon buns are just so much nicer when they are warm."
Another commented: "I used to go to Costa around two or three times a week, I was told by staff in the Consett store they were unable to heat up my much loved cinnamon bun, simple I have now stopped going and visit muffin break instead, where they will warm up a muffin. Health and safety gone mad, Costa loss."
In response to a customer's comment, the coffee chain added: "Sorry you're disappointed. This is a health and safety policy, I'm afraid. We will log your feedback internally to be taken into account."
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