‘Gutted’ as much-loved bakery chain to close all locations for good after owners face ‘really hard decisions’
FANS of a much-loved bakery chain have been left "gutted" as its owners get set to close it down.
The owners of Lawrance's Bakery and Bar in Cornwall said they have faced "really hard decisions" over shutting its doors.
Owners Phil Lawrance and Lucy Curnow have already closed one of their three locations - their Falmouth store.
Now they and are set to shut the doors of the Truro Bar on New Bridge Street, which they opened five years ago.
Phil and Lucy said in posts on social media: "You might have noticed we’ve been very quiet on here. We have made some really hard decisions to start winding down Lawrance’s.
"With the leases of both Truro shops coming to an end we felt naturally this would be the right time for us to start closing the doors and opening a new chapter for us both.
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"We want to say a massive thank you to everyone who has supported us over the last 5 years and to all of our incredible staff who have been on this journey.
"It has been an amazing ride and we are super proud of what we have managed to achieve with Lawrance’s."
The New Bridge Street store is set to close today after hosting a goodbye party last night.
The bakery in Truro is set to stick around a little longer, but the Falmouth location has already been closed.
Fans of the stores were left distraught at the closure of the announcement.
One fan wrote: "Gutted your closing. Was looking forward to visiting in September."
Another posted: "So sad you are closing, best cakes and cocktails ever."
While a third said: "Awwwww now when can I make time to come in every day."
Cornwall has also seen the recent closure of three Boots stores which has left shoppers irate and struggling to get presciptions.
Boots closed its branches in Pool, Cambourne and Redruth in March and locals are claiming this has led to delays when getting their prescriptions.
Speaking to the BBC, Dr Phil Treveil, a local GP, said: "We are in one of the most deprived areas of Cornwall and access to pharmacies is difficult."
Other residents of Cornwall have reported "queues were going out the door" following the closure of their local branch.
Why are retailers closing shops?
EMPTY shops have become an eyesore on many British high streets and are often symbolic of a town centre’s decline.
The Sun's business editor Ashley Armstrong explains why so many retailers are shutting their doors.
In many cases, retailers are shutting stores because they are no longer the money-makers they once were because of the rise of online shopping.
Falling store sales and rising staff costs have made it even more expensive for shops to stay open. In some cases, retailers are shutting a store and reopening a new shop at the other end of a high street to reflect how a town has changed.
The problem is that when a big shop closes, footfall falls across the local high street, which puts more shops at risk of closing.
Retail parks are increasingly popular with shoppers, who want to be able to get easy, free parking at a time when local councils have hiked parking charges in towns.
Many retailers including Next and Marks & Spencer have been shutting stores on the high street and taking bigger stores in better-performing retail parks instead.
Boss Stuart Machin recently said that when it relocated a tired store in Chesterfield to a new big store in a retail park half a mile away, its sales in the area rose by 103 per cent.
In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Wilko, Debenhams Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Paperchase to name a few.
What’s increasingly common is when a chain goes bust a rival retailer or private equity firm snaps up the intellectual property rights so they can own the brand and sell it online.
They may go on to open a handful of stores if there is customer demand, but there are rarely ever as many stores or in the same places.
