A DUMBARTON café has announced “with a heavy heart” that it is closed with immediate effect.

ChariTea, located within the Artizan Centre, officially closed its doors last week after two years of serving the town.

Dumbarton and Vale of Leven Reporter:

The venue was a social enterprise project run by Food For Thought West Dunbartonshire, a local food bank.

The charity cited a rise in running costs, reduction of resources, and uncertainty over its relocation under West Dunbartonshire Council’s plans for the Artizan Centre as its reason for the closure.

Over the course of its two years, staff at the café say they supported over 150 people in the local community with access to a warm meal on a regular basis.

A spokesperson for Food For Thought noted that the group is now looking to “realign its focus solely on its primary purpose of emergency food aid and relieving people of food poverty”.

A statement reads: “It is with a heavy heart that Food For Thought can confirm that our social enterprise ChariTea will be closing with immediate effect.

“The running costs of cafes and hospitality establishments up and down the country have been affected by the Cost of Living crisis and that has been no different to ChariTea.

“With the reduction in resources and also the uncertainty around the relocation of ChariTea under the council’s plans for the Artizan Centre, Food For Thought has decided to realign our focus solely on our primary purpose of emergency food aid and relieving people of food poverty.

“ChariTea has delivered tremendous success across the two years of its operation, supporting over 150 people in the community with access to a warm meal on a regular basis while also supporting the wider community to feel part of the project and contributing to our level of support.

“Food For Thought will continue to tackle food insecurity across West Dunbartonshire with the help and support of its partners in a number of different sectors and is committed to being at the forefront of change around food insecurity.”