Bewley's announce the closure of two landmark Dublin city centre cafés.
Bewley's opened its flagship café on Grafton Street in Dublin in 1927. It is now due to close in a month along with the café on Westmoreland Street.
Coffee at eleven in Dublin will never be the same again.
Chairman of the Campbell Bewley's Group, Patrick Campbell says that it is not economically viable to keep the cafés open.
The closure will result in the loss of 234 jobs. Many employees have spent all their working lives at Bewley's were informed of the closure last night.
It's devastating to everybody.
The company plans to hold on to the building on Westmoreland Street which will operate as a hotel and bar. However, Bewley's does not own the Grafton Street building and plans to end the leasehold.
One customer describes the news as dreadful remarking how the Grafton Street café is a landmark in the country. Others share their memories of visiting Bewley's through the years.
The cafés will stop trading on November 30th.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 29 October 2004. The reporter is Orla O'Donnell.
