Both branches of Newcastle institution Marc Toney are currently closed, with shutters down at the Grainger Street café and a notice in the window of the Percy Street outlet citing an 'electrical fault'. The company's website is no longer working, and employees have taken to social media to claim they have been let go.
Owners have so far remained silent, with no statement issued about the state of play at the long-running business.
A Beloved City Institution
Marc Toney is widely regarded as one of the most famous cafés in Newcastle, with generations of Geordies frequenting both the Grainger Street branch and the sister restaurant on Percy Street. Many customers have been visiting since childhood, often taken there by grandparents, and continued to drop in during lunch breaks after starting work in the city.
Known for its ice cream, the establishment is also a popular spot for sandwiches, soup, toasted teacakes and pots of tea, offering shelter from the cold in the city centre.
Closure Details and Employee Reports
Neither café is currently open. The sign at the Percy Street outlet, which has been in place for some time, reads: 'closed today due to an electrical fault. Sorry for any inconvenience.'
The situation has become a topic of discussion on Facebook, given how many people in the North East hold the business dear. In one thread, a current employee said they had been called to a meeting and subsequently made redundant.
Over the last 24 hours, ChronicleLive has attempted to contact Marc Toney by phone and via Facebook Messenger but has yet to receive a response.
Recent Ownership and History
In 2022, The Chronicle reported that Marc Toney had been sold as a going concern to new owners in a deal overseen by specialist business property adviser Christie & Co. The deal included the two coffee shops, as well as the factory, production facility and offices on Benton Square Industrial Estate.
Marc Toney has served families across Newcastle since the first shop opened inside the Grainger Market in 1892, when Antonio Marcantonio brought Italian ice cream to the historic market from a village near Rome. Expansion in the 1960s and 1970s led to two new ice cream parlours and coffee shops, run for the last few decades by Mr Marcantonio and his wife Anne.
