A POPULAR chain is set to close one of its cafes in York, describing it as a "challenging environment to operate in" - but the shop in the street will remain open.

Bettys has announced today that it will be closing the cafe in Stonegate in the city - but the shop will remain open.

A spokesperson for Bettys said: "We are sad to announce that we're going to be saying farewell to our café at Bettys Stonegate – although our shop in the street will be staying. 

"We’re closing Bettys Stonegate café because it’s become an increasingly challenging environment to operate in and it’s the least commercially viable of our cafés.

"The closure isn’t due to Covid-19, but rather as a result of the working challenges the building presents us with.

"Our Stonegate café is the smallest of our cafés, housed in a unique, historic building, full of charm. However, the back-of-house kitchen area is very small and the behind-the-scenes space for our people is very different to the working conditions we offer elsewhere.

"We’re hugely appreciative to all our customers and colleagues for their loyalty and affection to the café. We’re saddened to be closing but believe that it’s the right thing to do for the wider business and for our long-term future."

The spokesperson went on to say that Bettys is working to redeploy as many people as possible and doing "everything they can," to avoid compulsory redundancies.