Bury St Edmunds' Café Rouge, M&Co in Newmarket and Byron Burger in Ipswich among stores and restaurants to close in Suffolk amid coronavirus pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic has hammered our high streets, with many stores across Suffolk having announced closures and job cuts.
Millions of jobs are at risk as a result of the UK lockdown, which saw all non-essential shops and businesses forced to close, with some only having been allowed to re-open in the last few weeks.
Last week it was announced that the UK had officially entered a recession, after household spending plunged.
Businesses in Suffolk which have announced closures or job cuts amid the Covid-19 pandemic include:
Debenhams
The department store went into administration in April, with 20,000 jobs on the line. This month, the company made employees across its Suffolk branches redundant via conference call.
Pizza Express
Pizza Express restaurants in Ipswich and Sudbury are among 73 to close across the country. The closures were announced this week , with 1,100 jobs at risk. The branches in Newmarket and Bury St Edmunds will remain open.
M&Co
Fashion giant M&Co announced earlier this month that 47 stores would shut, with Newmarket's High Street store among those to go .
It closed its doors this month, with nine jobs lost as a result. Around 380 jobs are at risk country-wide.
River Island
Staff at the popular fashion chain, which has stores in Bury St Edmunds and Ipswich, have been told 350 jobs are to be cut as part of a management shake-up .
Carluccio's
The Italian restaurant chain went into administration in March, with 40 store closures and 1,000 job losses having been announced in June. The branch in the arc shopping centre, Bury St Edmunds, was among those to close.
Frankie & Benny's
The Restaurant Group, which owns Frankie & Benny's, announced in July that it was set to close 125 stores . Among those to shut permanently were Ipswich's Cardinal Park branch and the branch in Haverhill .
Branches in Bury St Edmunds and Ipswich's Nacton Road will remain open.
Winch & Blatch
The Sudbury department store is preparing to sell two of its four sites in the town . Bosses blamed reduced sales and footfall for the closures.
Jessops
The photographic company closed its Bury St Edmunds store - the last of its kind in East Anglia - earlier this month. Seven jobs were lost as a result of the closure.
Byron Burger
The restaurant chain announced this month that it would close 31 of its 51 restaurants in the country.
Although the company's restaurant in Bury St Edmunds' arc shopping centre was saved, the Ipswich branch, in the Buttermarket Centre, was among those to close.
Ask Italian
The Azzurri Group, which owns Zizzi, ASK Italian and Coco di Mama, announced it would close 75 restaurants and cut 1,200 jobs after having been taken over by TowerBrook Capital Partners.
It is unclear if the shops to shut include the Bury St Edmunds branch in Parkway or the Ipswich one in Cardinal Park.
Café Rouge
The Bury St Edmunds branch of Café Rouge was among 91 to close after its owners The Casual Dining Group, which also owns Bella Italia, went into administration.
Marks & Spencer
Retail giant Marks & Spencer, which has stores in Bury St Edmunds, Ipswich and Lowestoft , is set to axe around 7,000 jobs over the next three months.
The retailer also has three petrol station outlets in the Newmarket area and a food hall at Martlesham Heath retail park near Ipswich.
Carphone Warehouse
Carphone Warehouse announced the closure of all 531 of its standalone stores back in March – with an expected loss of 2,900 jobs.
Branches in Sudbury, Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds, Stowmarket , Felixstowe and Lowestoft were affected.
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