Durham’s Pret is closing next week

Pret A Manger's Durham branch is set to close next week, only two years after it opened on Silver Street, the counter-serve chain has announced.

Pret disclosed the plans in a post on Twitter: "We're afraid our shop in Durham will be closing on Thursday 29th March. We've really enjoyed our time in the city and we'd like to thank our customers for their support!"

Staff at the store told The Tab they are "very, very sad" at the closure.

Durham students share the employees' sentiments, though perhaps not for exactly the same reasons.

Jodie Morris, a second-year student at St. Aidan's, said: "M&S and now Pret? Honestly I think this is the beginning of the end for capitalism. I live for those croissants."

Pret only annouced plans to open its Durham store in October 2015

Another student, a first-year at Hatfield who has asked not to be named, said: "Pret was one of my only true connections to my old life in the big smoke."

He added: "Its absence will leave a gaping hole in the hearts of urban southerners across County Durham. Where will I get my vegan coconut porridge now?"

The MP for City of Durham, Roberta Blackman-Woods, said: “Durham should be the key location for retail and leisure in the county, but unfortunately a number of businesses are leaving the city centre."

In January, M&S announced similar plans to close its Durham branch, also located on Silver Streer, on Saturday 7 April, citing the need to "ensure we have the right offer in the right locations".

Pret has been contacted for comment.