Morrisons quietly hikes menu prices in cafes ahead of shutting 52 branches

MORRISONS has quietly hiked menu prices in its cafes ahead of plans to shutter 52 branches.

Prices at the supermarket's cafe have increased by up 6.25%, with the grocer raising the price of its Ultimate Breakfast by 50p.

The fry up which includes three sausages, two bacon, two fried eggs, sliced mushrooms, two black pudding, two hash browns,
Heinz Baked Beanz and fried bread cost £8 back in May 2024.

But its most up to date menu, published in October 2024, shows the price of the hefty meal now costs £8.50.

The Full Breakfast has also increased by 25p to £7, while its sweet Stacked Pancakes have risen by £4.25 to £4.50.

However, the breakfast has been added to a new two for £12 deal, giving pairs a chance to save £2 on a breakfast dish.

And its not just breakfast diners being asked to cough up more.

The price of a Ultimate Fish, Chips & Mushy Peas has increased by £7.75 to £8.50.

Meanwhile, a battered sausages, chips and mushy peas increased from £6 to £6.50.

A portion of chips has also increased from £2 to £2.50.

Morrisons has declined to comment.

On Monday, Morrisons announced a big shake up to its portfolio of cafes.

The beloved budget supermarket will be scrapping 52 cafes and 17 stores in a cost-cutting shake-up.

It revealed it would be shutting 52 in-store cafes, 35 fish counters, 35 meat counters, 13 florists, 17 convenience stores and all of its 18 Market Kitchens, which sell hot food including pizzas and rotisserie chicken in-store.

Morrisons said 365 jobs would be affected by the “optimisation strategy”;.

The supermarket said it was trimming down its offering as costs of operations were ” significantly out of line with usage, volumes or the value that customers place on them”.

Morrisons did not say exactly when these closures would take place.

The firm revealed back in January, that it recorded its strongest fourth quarter sales since the start of 2021, while full-year profits jumped.

It comes after Sainsbury's revealed it would axe 3,000 head office roles and wind up its hot food and bakery counters.

The move saw 20% of senior management roles cut at the supermarket giant as part of plans to focus on fewer, bigger roles and to simplify its head office and management teams.

Morrisons cafe closures will be a particular blow to squeezed families as they run £5 pensioner meal deals and free fruit and breakfast cereals for kids during the holidays.

Morrisons is not the only cafe chain to hike its prices.

Greggs increased the price of a sausage roll to £1.30 nationally at the start of the year.

The rise means that the Brit favourite jumped by more than a third since it cost £1 in 2022.

At some travel locations, such as London Bridge, the price of a sausage roll has increased from £1.50 to £1.55.

ALL CHANGE AT MORRISONS

At the start of the year, Morrisons said it would cut 200 staff jobs.

Roles in customer service, employee engagement and payroll were all impacted.

A spokeswoman for Morrisons said at the time it carried out a “review of its people structure” to ensure it is “offering stores and sites a timely and consistent service”.

This was after boss Rami Baitiéh, warned that a “avalanche of costs”; would hit businesses following the government’s October Budget.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said during her autumn statement she would raise employers' National Insurance contributions (NICs).

She also announced a reduction to the threshold at which businesses start paying NI contributions from £9,100 to £5,000.

It's estimated that the move will raise £25billion – the equivalent of around £800 per employee for each firm.

At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40.