Greggs is set to shut one of its Edinburgh branches due to an expiring lease, reports have shown.
The high street bakery chain is permanently closing its store on 357/359 Leith Walk just weeks after announcing another closure nearby.
There has been no official date for the closure announced yet but employee’s believe it could be as early as May.
Staff were said to have been informed last week, with reassurances that they will get located to other nearby branches once the store closes.
Speaking to the Evening News, a Greggs staff member said: “It’s true the store is closing, but we’ll still be here a few weeks yet.
“We’ve not been given an exact closing date, but it’s expected to be at the end of this month or the start of May.”
A spokesperson for Greggs reaffirmed that staff at the Leith Walk store will be relocated where possible.
Customers have taken to social media to express their thoughts about the closure.
A Facebook user wrote: “It is such a shame they are closing the store. Greggs will unfortunately not benefit from the tram effect at this location.”
While another said: “Everything at my local bakery arrives frozen. Nothing will be fresh anymore.”
Another store is set to open nearby on Seafield Road after the closure has happened.
The opening of the new store follows the company’s pledge to operate 3,000 shops with more than 200 opened in 2023.
Around 220 new shops opened in 2023, with 33 closures and 42 relocations.
This left the bakery with 145 new sites on a net basis, taking its total estate to 2,473.
The first eight new locations will be in the following areas:
- Within Tesco, Bar Hill in Cambridge
- Chester Road, Mold
- Within Tesco, Ealing in London
- Church Walk Shopping Centre, Walker
- General Rees Square, Cwmbran
- Northenden Road, Sale
- U2 Portland Walk, Barrow-in-Furness
- MFG service station, Hyde Road, Mottram
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
The bakery has not yet announced the remaining locations.
They aim to expand their presence across retail parks, travel sites and roadside locations, as well as industrial estates.
Greggs also plans to continue rolling out evening opening hours across specific stores.
These extended hours are currently available in around 1,200 shops.
Roisin Currie, chief executive of Greggs said: “We enter 2024 with plans to continue to invest in our shops and expand supply chain capacity.”
