Last weekend Barnam’s Cafe on Belfast’s Lisburn Road closed its doors for the final time after decades of serving generations of families.

It was the sort of place that felt as though it had always been there and, naturally, that it always would be.

The reaction to its closure was understandably emotional. People shared memories of childhood visits, first dates and family traditions, with some customers even reduced to tears at the prospect of saying goodbye.

But Barnam’s is just the latest in a series of closures that have left Belfast residents mourning places they had come to regard as fixtures of the city.

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Earlier this autumn came the news that Keats & Chapman, the second-hand bookshop on North Street, was facing closure after 22 years at its current premises.

Then came the announcement that Output on the Lisburn Road was also closing, citing financial pressures.

And........

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