Marks and Spencer (M&S) has announced most of its new foodhall at the Douglas store will reopen on Tuesday.

Work on refurbishing the city centre store, which first opened its doors in 1996, began in July. While the store has not closed, different parts of the premises have been shut in a staggered approach to the revamp.

Back in May, Isle of Man Today exclusively revealed that M&S would be shutting its cafe.

M&S bosses defended that decision, saying customers would benefit from the makeover with plans to expand the supermarket’s grocery offering.

All the staff at the café have been relocated and the store confirmed a recruitment drive to employ a further 20 people at the store as part of the refurbishment.

Now, posting on social media, M&S said: ‘The wait for our new Foodhall is nearly over! Firstly a huge thank you from the team for bearing with us during the last few weeks.

‘On Tuesday 80% of the new foodhall will be ready to open and we can’t wait to welcome you in and to share this incredible new store.

‘There will be a slight change to the belted till layout as they move back to where they used to be.’

News of the café’s closure sparked something of an outcry and even prompted an online petition to save it. There has been a café there since 2004, and the facility was extended in 2017.

When asked about the café, they said it was a commercial decision to shut the facility.

It added that once the work is complete, customers may understand better why the decision has been made.

The new foodhall will feature a substantially larger area with new highlights including freshly baked sourdough loaves from a bigger in-store bakery, hot beverages to-go at the coffee counter, expanded Frozen section and a new hot chicken counter offering ready-to-enjoy meal options.

As part of the new store layout, the Kids department has been relocated to the first floor of the store.