THE opening of a new Greggs cafe has been welcomed.

The bakery giant has opened a new, bumper sit-in store in Barrow town centre.

But the other two existing Greggs bakeries in Dalton Road appear to have been shuttered by the chain. The stores also no longer appear on the company's website.

The new cafe in Portland Walk includes a large seating and has attracted sausage roll lovers in their droves since opening.

It is hoped the town centre will be boosted by the new eatery, which has filled an empty unit left by the closure of the Thorntons cafe in 2020.  

Paul Hodgson, the manager of Barrow's Business Improvement District, said: "It is great to see Greggs investing in Barrow and improving their offering within the town centre.

"The old Thorntons unit at the top of Portland Walk has been vacant for a number of years, so it is really positive to see one of the town's most prominent units being brought back into use."

The new Greggs bakery arrives before the full opening of BAE's jobs and skills hub in Portland Walk.

Alongside the forthcoming food hall at the market, it will provide lunch options to the hundreds of BAE apprentices and graduates completing their training at the centre every day, with hopes that the new hub will boost footfall in the area.

The opening comes after Greggs revealed plans to open up another 160 stores this year as it cheered a strong end to 2023.

The group opened a record 220 new shops over 2023, with 33 closures and 42 relocations leaving it with 145 new sites on a net basis and taking its total estate to 2,473.

Greggs is set to open between 140 and 160 new shops on a net basis in 2024 as it looks to give customers more convenient access to its stores.

It posted a 9.4 per cent rise in like-for-like sales across its own-managed shops in the fourth quarter, with comparable store growth of 13.7 per cent overall in 2023.