Two city centre shops close – one to be replaced by café
The decline of Coney Street as York’s principal shopping thoroughfare has continued with the loss of another high street name.
The Dorothy Perkins/Burton shop has closed – leading to more concerns about the state of city centre retailing.
And it is not the only shop to go, as Grainger Games on Church Street has pulled out too.
There are plans to turn it into another café.
A pattern of closures
The end of the road for Dorothy Perkins and Burton follows a pattern on Coney Street.
BHS has long been empty. Chain retailers Currys-PC World and Wallis had already left.
And independent store Burgins Perfumery closed in July after trading for 137 years.
A spokeswoman for the Arcadia Group, which owns Dorothy Perkins and Burton, said:
We are always looking at how to shape our store portfolio, investing in flagship stores, and increasing our brands’ presence on-line.
Our click and collect service across the brands is also proving a successful way of helping our customers collect their purchases at a location most convenient to them.
A York store is still trading at Monks Cross. The spokeswoman said they would “endeavour to re-deploy staff affected to another store within the Arcadia Group as much as we can”.
Bistro plan for empty shop
A note in the window announced the demise of Grainger Games’ York store.
It redirected customers to shops in Selby and Leeds, and thanked them for their “amazing support and business over the past 5 years”.
The shop, which bought and sold video games, consoles, phones and tablets, is part of a chain with its HQ in Newcastle.
Now a planning application to turn the building, 12A Church Street, into a café has been lodged with planners.
The shop next door, Ancestral Name, is is owned by the same people.
Plans for the café-bistro would include the demolition of a single storey 20th century extension to the rear and the creation of a courtyard for diners.
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