Changes at our Leominster Home & Living shop
It’s not goodbye, just see you soon.
At St Michael’s Hospice, we are deeply grateful for the support of our community, whose generosity enables us to provide expert, compassionate care to over 2,400 people each year. It costs over £7million annually to provide this care, free of charge, to those who need us most. Our retail shops are a vital part of making this possible, generating much-needed income to support our services. With this commitment at the heart of everything we do, we have made the difficult decision to close the coffee shop within our Leominster Home and Living shop.
The coffee shop’s last trading day will be Friday 28th March. The coffee shop will be offering a reduced menu and will close at 3pm.
Over the years, we have loved welcoming the community into our coffee shop space, seeing it become a place where friendships have formed and conversations have flourished. Your support has been invaluable, and we are so grateful for the warmth and kindness you have shared with us. We know this will be sad news for many who have enjoyed spending time there, and we want to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported it over the years. We also want to reassure you that our much-loved bookshop and adjoining Home and Living shop will remain open, continuing to offer a welcoming space for book lovers in the community.
This decision has not been made lightly. Despite our best efforts, the coffee shop is operating at a loss and with costs increasing we can only see the situation worsening. As a Hospice, we have a responsibility to ensure that every pound raised is used in the best possible way to support those in our care. By repurposing the coffee shop space, we will be able to expand the retail area of the Home and Living shop, helping us to generate more income and continue providing the vital services that so many people rely on. As we develop the new space, we would love to hear from the community as to what they would like to see in store.
We are working closely with our wonderful staff and volunteers as to next steps. Each staff member will be consulted with confidentially, including discussions on any alternative possible roles within the hospice. We hope that volunteers will continue to support the hospice either at Leominster or another St Michael’s site. The dedication and hard work of the whole team has been invaluable, and we cannot thank them enough.
We are always looking for new volunteers across our wider site in Leominster, so do check out our opportunities if you would like to support us.
We appreciate that this change may be disappointing, and we are so grateful for your understanding. Your ongoing support means everything to us, and every donation and purchase in our shops directly helps fund the care we provide to people and families across our community when they need it most.
📚 From Monday 31st March, we will be undergoing some building work as we prepare to expand the retail space. Whilst the popular book shop and adjoining Home & Living shop will remain open, there may be a little disruption, so do bear with us when you visit.
We look forward to welcoming you into our expanded retail space soon, and we hope you will continue to visit and support our bookshop, as well as our other retail locations.
Thank you for being such an important part of our Hospice community.
FAQs
It is with sadness we have taken the difficult decision to close the coffee shop. We thank all customers who have supported the coffee shop over the years and of course a special thank you goes to the staff and volunteers for their commitment.
Unfortunately, the coffee shop has been struggling to cover its costs and is operating at a loss. Food costs continue to rise and the imminent increase in national insurance contributions will also have a significant impact across the hospice. We appreciate the coffee shop also serves the community, but the financial pressures have now become too significant for it to continue.
The last day of opening will be Friday 28th March. On our final day, opening hours will be 9am- 3pm and a reduced menu may apply.
Each staff member will be consulted with confidentially, including discussion on any alternative possible roles within the hospice.
Volunteers will be offered alternative volunteering opportunities to consider here at Leominster or other sites.
No. We hope to use it at alternative hospice sites.
We plan to use the space for additional retail sales. Further discussions will take place with the team with regards to how best to utilise the floor space across the site.
📚 From Monday (31st) we will be undergoing some building work as we prepare to expand the retail space. Whilst the popular book shop and adjoining Home & Living shop will remain open, there may be a little disruption, so do bear with us when you visit.
Keep an eye on our website or our social media accounts for further announcements, as a timetable of refurbishment for the site is yet to be agreed.
Yes, Whitestone will continue to offer a café.