A popular coffee shop has announced that it will be closing the doors to its town centre store.

WorkHouse Coffee Company is a speciality coffee shop and café that launched its King Street branch after being over-run with customers pre-pandemic at its Oxford Road site.

Known for being one of Reading’s only speciality coffee shops, the owners have expressed their disappointment at what has been called the ‘end of an era’ for the company.

The business has posted the announcement on their Instagram page, with news that the branch will be closing on April 1.

The post said: “The opening of the town store took us to another level as a business, the sheer volume of customers pre-pandemic was often intense (fun)! We feel it has a special place in coffee history as one of the first speciality coffee houses in Reading. Now Reading is spoilt for choice and we love seeing the industry flourish.

“We are really sad to see so much has changed in the last few years but no one could have guessed where we would be now compared to 10 years ago.

“Things in the town really haven’t been the same since COVID especially given the repurposing of the hotel that we were part of and we can see it in the store as well as customer flow and your feedback to us. Not to mention everyone is acutely aware of the rising costs and that has put pressure on businesses as well as individuals alike.

WorkHouse Coffee Company has reassured customers that their branch on Oxford Road will remain open for their customers and the website is still up and running for bean sales and wholesale coffee supply.

They added: “It will be an end of an era for King St and we look forward to where and when we might open a new site in the town in the future.

“We love our customers and our amazing staff; they are our coffee family! To everyone, we want to say thank you!! It’s been a journey and one that doesn’t end here. We are closing 1 store but not closing down so who knows what the future holds…”

This is just one in many coffee shops, restaurants, and pubs that have closed across Reading in recent months due to an increase in rent, energy costs, and increasing wages.