SHOPPERS are devastated following the news that a much-loved retail chain will close after 20 years.

The store’s staff announced the closure to customers, but no official closing date was shared.

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The demise of Shoezone in Dundee has caused heartbreak among locals and they have taken to social media in droves to share their grief.

One person said: “How sad. It’s been a shoe store all my life,” while another added: “Shoezone was all we had left.”

A third expressed concern about the future of the city writes: “It will soon become a ghost town.”

A fourth agreed: “There will be nothing left but coffee shops,” they said.

Fears are now growing for the remaining nine stores in Scotland, including the Glenrothes outlet.

One customer said staff assured shoppers that Shoezone would remain online and continue to operate branches in England.

He told The Courier Evening Telegraph: “I feel sorry for the staff.

“The banners for the closing sale appeared on Friday. Some of the staff were angry.

“It’s been there for a while; at least 20 years, but I think it’s considerably longer than that.

“I feared for the store during the height of the pandemic.

“The staff said we could still use vouchers and shop online.”

It comes as the closure of the Argos Dundee branch, located in the Overgate shopping centre, was announced last month after more than two decades of serving loyal customers.

According to the shopping center manager, the company’s managers have decided not to renew their lease, and the blow is just one example of British fears that high street shopping is coming to an end.

A spokesperson said this at the time The Courier: “We are currently in discussions with our colleagues at our Dundee Overgate Argos store.

‘We have made the difficult decision to close it and are supporting them in every way we can.

“This includes exploring opportunities for colleagues to be redeployed within Argos and Sainsbury’s.”

Britain has been hit by a banana shortage after supplies were hit by transatlantic storms.

Tesco shoppers have discovered that there are no stores in the UK, including Congleton in Cheshire, Flitwick in Beds, Milton in Cambridgeshire and Thurso, Dunfermline and Dundee in Scotland.

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There is also a lack of availability online, with loose bananas and ripe five-packs showing as out of stock.

Asda has also been affected, with several branches missing fruit.

It is understood the shortage is affecting loose bananas and has been caused by sea storms that have delayed shipments of the popular fruit.

Multipacks are still available, although demand is increasing. Supply is expected to return to normal next week.

Shoppers have noticed the shortage, with one saying: “Tesco got hammered yesterday, except strangely no bananas.”

Another added: “Why are bananas so often out of stock at your (Tesco) Flitwick superstore? Regularly there are no bananas in the evenings.

“I just got back from the store and nothing at the moment, not even the organic ones or the bags.”

A third joked: “There are no bananas at Tesco so I bought a bottle of red instead.”

A customer from Edinburgh saw a sign in Tesco apologizing for the lack of bananas due to availability issues.

Tesco says bananas are one of its best-selling products, with the majority of products sold in Britain and Ireland coming from Costa Rica, Ecuador and Colombia.

The supermarket has assured customers that multipacks of bananas are still available and that loose bananas should be back to normal from next week.

Dan Bebber, associate professor of ecology at the University of Exeter and a leading banana expert, said: “Storms can be an issue that affects supply, and production conditions have also not been great in many places due to El Niño.

“We do see fluctuations where sometimes not enough or too many bananas arrive.

“It takes 10 to 14 days to transport the bananas across the Atlantic Ocean and then another week to ripen them in a ripening warehouse.

“They can speed up the ripening process when there is a shortage, and when you see green bananas in the supermarkets you know there is a bottleneck and they are raiding the warehouses early.

“Companies do help each other to make sure stores have them in stock, and that helps smooth out the fluctuations.

“I expect levels to return to normal soon, but in the long term we are concerned about the impact of climate change on banana producing countries, especially Colombia, and about fungal diseases that pose a huge threat to the sector.”

The Sun contacted Asda for comment.

It comes just weeks after Sainsbury’s warned shoppers in some stores that there are ‘nationwide’ issues that could affect the availability of black tea.

Tea is produced largely in Asia and East Africa, with China, India, Sri Lanka and Kenya producing about three-quarters of the world’s tea.

Freight transport from these regions has suffered major disruptions in the past two months due to attacks in the Red Sea.

Violence by Houthi rebels in the region caused most shipping companies to use the main trade route, which heads towards the Suez Canal, to divert their cargo around the Cape of Good Hope at the foot of Africa.

This adds roughly 10 to 14 days to shipping times, as well as higher costs for shipping companies.

Joint attacks from the US and Britain have been launched against the Yemen-based Houthis in recent weeks in an attempt to stop the recent wave of attacks.

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A family’s favorite restaurant chain is closing a restaurant after a series of closures.

Frankie and Benny’s will close a branch in Dundee within weeks.

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The American-Italian chain has had a branch in the Overgate Shopping Center since 2016.

The chain’s Dundee restaurant was saved from closure in 2020 when several other stores closed, but now it’s due to close for good.

The restaurant is expected to close in the next two weeks and a new retailer will take over the space, according to Overgate shopping center bosses.

Local residents shared on Facebook their disappointment upon hearing the news.

One user said: “It’s happening everywhere, not just in Dundee.”

“Awww, what a shame,” said another.

A third user said: “How sad to see another business closing its doors.”

Overgate bosses confirmed to local media that a new retailer would soon move into the space.

They said, “Frankie & Benny’s is closing in about two weeks.”

“We would like to thank Frankie & Benny’s for being a valued tenant for over seven years, with a strong appeal to Overgate customers.

“We send our best wishes to the staff for the future.”

The Sun has contacted Frankie and Benny’s for comment.

Last May, The Restaurant Group (TRG) confirmed it would close 23 of its loss-making restaurants to help reduce costs.

Of the 23 locations, 18 were Frankie and Bennys and the remaining four were Chiquitos and a single Firejacks.

What happens to the catering industry?

Energy costs have risen and more and more consumers are choosing to easily order online instead of going to a restaurant.

As a result, some chains are facing tighter budgets and have no choice but to close a number of branches to reduce costs.

Papa Johns has confirmed that eight of them will remain closed until a new owner is found.

Taco Bell, which has not been on the scene for long, pulled down the shutters on a drive-thru restaurant in Aberdeen.

Hostmore, the owner of restaurant chain TGI Fridays and 63rd+1st, has said it will not open any new restaurants until at least 2025 after confirming a decline in profits.

Costa Coffee closed two cafes earlier this year.

Even Wetherspoon has struggled to weather the storm, with 40 pubs closing last year and as many as 20 preparing to close this year.

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