'Another fad' say shoppers now that café chain with 473 stores is closing concept locations

A LARGE café chain with 473 stores has closed all concept branches after eight years.

The novelty of veganism has gone out of date at Pret A Manger after the chain confirmed its three remaining 'Veggie Pret' sites will close by the end of the month.

It's not all bad news though, as the three remaining Veggie Prets – two in London and one in Manchester – will be converted into classic Prets at the end of February.

The two London stores, on Broadwick Street and Great Eastern Street, will be renovated on February 19.

And the Veggie Pret in Deansgate, Manchester, will undergo renovations on February 26.

Katherine Bagshawe, UK food and coffee director at Pret A Manger, said: “Today one in three of all our main meals are vegetarian or vegan.

“Every Pret store is a Veggie Pret store, with new vegetarian and vegan products on our menu all the time.

“Our original Meatless Meatball Hot Wrap was born in Veggie Pret, but became a top five bestseller across Pret within the first week of launch, showing us how customers want great vegetarian food across all our stores.”

The first Veggie Pret opened in Soho, central London, in 2016 after a successful trial.

The company subsequently opened ten more and bought competitor Eat to turn its outlets into branches catering exclusively to vegetarians or vegans.

But those plans were upended when the pandemic and lockdowns destroyed the busy lunch trade near office buildings.

Bosses began closing Veggie branches or converting them to standard Prets, where items such as crayfish sarnies and chicken Caesar baguettes remain bestsellers.

Veganism's mainstream appeal has been helped in part by celebrities such as pop star Ellie Goulding speaking out about their plant-based diets.

Pret A Manger sandwich chain got into trouble last year after charging £7.15 for “Britain's worst baguette”.

The price tag for food in a London Tube station has been stuck on Posh Cheddar and Pickle products.

Furious customers criticized the chain's prices on social media, calling it a 'rip off'.

Leyla Hayes wrote: “They take the p**s… that's what happens.”

Consumer expert Scott Dixon said angrily: 'I would refuse to pay it.

'I never did that, and I never will. Everything is a scam this country.”

And Steve Blower added: “Sometimes you come to the conclusion that a brand you used to like isn't what it used to be.”

Glenn Boycott joked: “That has to be the worst baguette in Britain. For that price you could buy enough to make ten.”

The sandwich is almost £1.50 cheaper when customers sign up for a Club Pret membership for £30 per month.

A spokeswoman for Pret stressed that the price of £7.15, or £5.95 to eat out, only applies in transport hubs, and that most customers buy the baguette to take away for £4.95 in non- station shops.

She added: “Like all businesses, we are facing enormous cost pressures, which we are trying to absorb as much as possible.”

A Financial Times investigation this year found that prices of most Pret sandwiches had risen by more than a third since the start of 2022 – more than double food inflation.