Staff at a coffee shop in Alresford will be looking for new jobs in the run-up to Christmas.

Coffee#1 will close its Alresford store in East Street on December 20 after seven years of trading in a Grade II Listed building which was formerly a branch of Barclays bank.

The company’s area manager Alex Boada Rodriguez said: “We’re incredibly sad to be closing the doors to our Alresford coffee shop.

“We’ve enjoyed seven memorable years in the town, and I’d like to thank the many customers who have visited us and the team who have made the coffee shop what it is today.

“Closing a store is always the last choice we want to make, but unfortunately it has become difficult to maintain a sustainable business here with rising costs.

“Regrettably we have taken the decision to close the store and are helping the team to find opportunities within Coffee#1.”

Customers were sad to see the shop go and gave their thoughts on why it was closing on Facebook.

Nony Kerr-Smiley wrote: “I fear that high rents and lease costs, coupled with a limit of one hour parking, are causing immense issues to our beautiful town centre.

“With a one hour limit, so many shoppers have a limit of being able to either get a coffee with a friend and go, or pop to a couple of shops and rush off.

“There is just too little time for shop and coffee, and the wardens are fairly good at their job, leaving little leniency.”

Scott Bridges and John Hammond both railed against the current trend by suggesting it would be “a good place for a bank”.

Clare Bowen felt the news would come as a shock to the shop’s four-legged clientele as well.

She said: “Good luck everyone. My dog won’t understand why she can’t go in there.”

And Jennifer Nicholson was sad because she had been bringing her son Alex to Coffee#1 since he was a baby.

She said: “We are going to miss you so much - he discovered yoghurt-topped flapjacks in your coffee shop, and the staff are always so lovely.”

Alton-based chartered surveyors Glanfield Holmlund are advertising the premises to let on a new lease for a minimum of five years and highlighted their “extremely prominent location” at the junction of East Street and Broad Street. The ground floor has an area of 1,667 square feet and there is a 500 sq ft basement.

The decision leaves Alresford with four coffee shops: Heidi - formerly Caracoli - in Broad Street, Josie’s in Station Road, the Tiffin Tea Rooms in West Street and the Long Barn Café in Bishop’s Sutton Road.

Coffee#1 opened its first store in 2001 and joined The Caffè Nero Group in January 2019. It has 132 coffee shops on the south coast and in Wales, the south-west and the Midlands.

Of the Alresford store, the company said: “The team has been proud to serve the local community with great coffee in a welcoming space to relax and connect.”