A WELL-known coffee shop in Barrow has decided to call it quits after 30 years in the hospitality trade.

The Last Resort Coffee Shop has been a permanent feature of Cavendish Street since 1990 and the owners have said they are thankful for all the support they have received from the public over the years.

They said in a post on Facebook: “Unfortunately we have made the hard decision to close the Coffee Shop.

“It’s a fantastic business with great customers but after a lot of soul searching we’ve decided now is the right time to put ourselves first and to close the door for the final time and look to do something else.

“We’ve loved being part of people’s daily lives, providing people with so much more than a great cup of coffee, a place to meet friends, make friends or just sit alone with a book or paper.

“Nothing beats seeing a shop full of happy customers enjoying their freshly ground coffee and the atmosphere they create.

“We’d like to thank everyone that’s supported us as customers since we opened in 1990, all the staff that have worked so hard and all the suppliers who’ve also been an integral part of the business.

“A cafe is only as good as its customers and I think we had the best we could possibly wish for.

“If anyone would like to take over the helm of running Barrows best Coffee Shop please get in touch.”

This closure means that there is one less independent trader in the town centre of Barrow, which like many other town centres, has been hit hard by the pandemic.

Colin Garnett, manager at Barrow Business Improvement District, said: “It is sad news to hear that the Last Resort has closed and we hope that a new owner or tenant can be found to take on this very popular town centre café.

“With the closure of Thornton’s café during the Covid lockdown and some venues opting to remain as delivery only, we now have a lack of café options in the town centre to serve a population of Barrow’s size.”