Costa Coffee’s decision to close another town centre branch has been described as a “sign of the times” as businesses face increasing cost pressures.
There was some disquiet five years ago when the chain announced it was opening in Whitstable, which is fiercely proud of its reputation for independent stores and cafes.
But the closure of the High Street branch on Sunday is the latest in a round of nationwide shutdowns by the coffee giant, first announced last year.
They included the Costa in Maidstone town centre, which welcomed its last customers in January 2024.
The Whitstable branch had only garnered an average of three stars on Tripadvisor, with customers complaining about cutbacks to opening hours and describing the cafe as “dingy”, but others praised the coffee and service.
The unit is now being advertised by Caxtons for an annual rent of £35,000.
The nearest Costa is now its drive-thru cafe beside the Chestfield roundabout.
The company would only confirm the closure of the branch on June 30 but not why it had shut or how many staff had been affected.
The boss of Kent’s biggest independent coffee shop chain, Hats Hats, which has an outlet at Whitstable Harbour, says it’s “a sign of the times”.
“When any business has to close its doors it is sad and our hearts go out to anyone who has lost work as a result of the changes,” said Louis Hurst.
“I think the fact that a name as big as Costa is closing branches shows the increasing cost pressures so many businesses in our sector and beyond are facing.
“Increases to National Insurance contributions, and in our case the number of staff who now qualify for employers’ National Insurance, has seen a huge hike in our employment costs – and that’s before we talk about increases in rent, utilities and the goods we buy.”
“The world coffee price for green beans, for example, has also risen by over 90% in a year.”
Hat Hats has outlets in nine locations across east Kent but is now expanding the business through the development of its own high-tech vending machines, called Hat Hats To Go.
The first have been installed at Discovery Park at Sandwich but Louis hopes to site between 50 and 100 machines across the county in the coming months.
“We’ve spent many thousands of pounds and 18 months developing these machines to be the best of their kind, guaranteeing the quality of coffee people expect from us,” he said.
“It’s a way we can expand the business and brand without entailing high staff costs which we couldn’t otherwise justify.”
Anyone interested in one of the machines can email togo@hathats.co.uk.
Businesses previously told KentOnline that the impact of the national insurance hikes will be “worst than Covid”.
Today, another national retailer, Game, located inside The Pentagon Shopping Centre in Chatham, confirmed it will be closing.
