Ruth Cadbury Appeals To Sainsbury's CEO Not To Close Chiswick Cafe

MP has written to supermarket bosses pointing out that it is a community hub for elderly residents

Local MP Ruth Cadbury has pledged to try to help the elderly Chiswick residents who are upset at the closure of a cafe next to Sainsbury's on Essex Place.

It is due to close on October 7th and be turned into an Argos pickup point.

Ruth has written to Sainsbury’s CEO to protest the closure and to seek that an alternative arrangement is made which would protect the café.

Local MP Ruth Cadbury said: “I know the cafe at Chiswick Sainsbury’s well and am saddened that the management have decided to close it. It provides a welcoming and affordable place for local shoppers, and has many regulars who will miss its presence badly. I am writing to Sainsbury’s management to ask them to reconsider their decision.”

“They are particularly concerned because there are few places in Chiswick which catered for many pensioners where they could have a hot breakfast or lunch. The cafe has become a real community hub and will be sorely missed.”

Ruth will update if she receives any response from Sainsbury’s.

The issue has led to a discussion on our forum.

When Chiswickw4.com visited last week there were a number of elderly residents who were very glum at the news. One said: "This cafe is very good value for me, I can have a hot meal for £6, and I can do my shopping too."Where else can I go- there's no use saying I can try elsewhere on the High Road, it's too far to walk."

Her companion was equally crestfallen. "Why they have to change it into an Argos is beyond me. It's doing very well as a cafe. Loads of older people come here, where else have we now?"

They both remarked that there were few places in Chiswick which catered for elderly people on lower incomes where they could have a hot breakfast or lunch. And they bemoaned the closure of the Chiswick Day Centre seven years ago.

Three years ago, Sainsbury's announced that it planning to convert shop space equivalent to almost 40 supermarkets from selling food into non-food items in a bid to fight back against a fall in grocery sales.

The supermarket chain identified 1.5m sq ft of space across the UK, which represents 6pc of its portfolio, that it no longer needed for food. The company has since bought Argos and Habitat Home for £1.4 billion and has installed pick up locations across the country.

September 14, 2018