Well, the Sainsbury's café have just lost themselves a regular customer

[TheLovelinessOfDemons]

Apparently, they're reopening as a coffee bar, no proper meals. I'll go somewhere else.

@TheChosenTwo

I’ve never eaten in a supermarket or a shop cafe! I’m surprised at how many people do to be honest. If I’m hungry, I’d either eat before I went, buy something nice from said supermarket to eat at home or go out somewhere half decent to eat! My local Sainsburys has a Starbucks and the nearest tescos has its own tescos cafe which stinks of greasy hash browns. Never been into either, wouldn’t miss them (likely wouldn’t even notice) if they disappeared. I don’t drink tea/coffee though so the appeal of stopping off for one wouldn’t enter my head regardless of where I was. OP just think to yourself that you’ve saved a couple of quid!

These ones aren’t like that. They’re separate from the shopping part of the store and are like a canteen, large area of seating and good sized and reasonably priced food, with have worked there a while and get to know you. I agree the branded ones are awful, which is why the Carluccios partnership doesn’t bring me much hope.

Sainsbury's looked at their business model and realised that trying to be 'nice', having a few extra staff on the floor and concentrating on quality in their own-brands was not working - far too many people shop solely on price.
Covid has been a convenient excuse to close down counters, cafes, currency exchange etc. They won't be back, at the moment they are trying to compete with Aldi on price!

Woolies in Blackpool had a huge cafe on the top floor. We always headed there for breakfast before a day out . Our local Sainsbury’s is opposite the railway station so it’s great for a bite to eat before the train and cheaper than the station kiosk .

The cafe at Sainsbury in Folkestone was my go to place when en route from UK to Brussels. I could pick up shopping to take back, have a pee, and eat before getting the ferry. Better food than DFDS.

It's sad that supermarket cafes are disappearing as they were often very good and the prices were reasonable for a jacket potato and fillings or just a drink. Much cheaper than coffee shops are.

As I've said upthread, I would drop my son off at school and then do the food shop. Sometimes I'd have breakfast in the café first. If relatives were visiting and we wanted to go out for lunch or dinner, they'd ask to go to the Sainsbury's café, which cooked healthy full meals, compared to Caffè Nero or McDonald's. My mum would visit me once a week for lunch. I quite often needed that me time in the morning after trying to get a 9yo with ADHD, who was having a bad morning, to school.

Coffee shops are all the same really. Too expensive coffees, toasties and cakes. The local sainsburys cafe used to do ham egg and chips. Comfort food. I had this when I came out of hospital.

Well, I thought I'd go to McDonald's for breakfast this morning, I didn't realise they weren't doing eat in in the mornings and it was tepid by the time I got it home, so if I do that again I'll get a delivery.

I don't know where to take visiting family for lunch and dinner now.

Sainsbury’s cafe has been open a couple of weeks now in the two big Sainsbury’s near me. Popped into one today and had a tea for 85p and a doughnut for 60p, amazing! They said their kitchens aren’t open yet and don’t know when they will be, they had pastries and toasties. No hint of Carluccio’s take over. I talked to the people working there and they said I can give feedback on lettuce-know.com which I will do now.

My local Sainsburys is just coffee and cakes now, but this is fine for me as that's all I'd order from there.

What is irritating right now, is that they used to open til 6pm, but have now decided to close at 4pm instead. Most places in my town close by 4pm, so me and a few friends would meet at Sainburys for coffee after work one day a week. And it used to be reasonably busy at that time too.

We've now been meeting at our local Wetherspoons for coffee. Just not quite the same.

Sainsburys is building a new store in Aylesbury.

It’s having a Starbucks.

I’m kinda excited 😆

Our local Sainsburys has reopened their café with a reduced menu. Still great value, lovely to see the same staff back running it. It felt good to be back, but we were the only ones in there, and the staff said it is very quiet all the time now. A bit worried it might close again if customers don't go back.

They’re still not doing hot food, surely there’s business for it now?

Yes I noticed the big one near where I work has stopped doing meals and just does pastries now. A bit of a shame but I think they were short staffed and over whelmed.

Well this thread is evidence that @MNHQ still haven't sorted out zombie threads

This happened a while ago where my Mum lives, but they have just announced that they are closing the coffee shop now - so it obviously hasn't been very popular.

It’s less than a year old and on my watch list. I’m still interested to see if any sainsburys cafes have returned to hot food. The stuff they reheat in the plastic packs is so unappealing.