OWNERS of a popular community café in Thornbury has been given notice that it will close after trustees felt they “could do better” by replacing them.

The owners and staff of Origin Café, based in Turnberrie’s Community Centre in Thornbury, have been asked to leave by the end of March.

Over the past five years, the café has proved popular with old and young alike, offering a series of popular sessions for community groups, and lunch clubs for the elderly.

But while the announcement seemingly came out of the blue, the owners claim to have had suspicions for a while.

“We have had inklings over the past few months that something strange was going on,” said Penny Baker, who runs the café along with her husband Richard, the café’s chef.

“We had a number of bookings given to other catering companies, and from then on we knew something wasn’t quite right.

“I attended the trustees meeting, as I always do, and there they said that when our lease was up for renewal they would not be renewing it.

“Originally they gave us a month, but after we told them we had a number of bookings in place, they extended it to the end of March.

“They haven’t given us a real reason outside of saying they felt they could do better, and that Origin has not been a success but I beg to differ.

“Since we announced that we are leaving, we have had so much support online from people saying we will be missed and thanking us for the work we have done.

“The Town Council have also been so supportive of us, and what we do, over the years but unfortunately have their hands tied now, due to the building being owned by South Gloucestershire Council.”

Prior to running Origin, and the centre’s youth club Krunch, Penny and Richard ran a popular café on Thornbury High Street, but moved to Turnberrie’s due to the increased scope to be more involved in the Town.

“Moving to Turnberrie’s gave us the chance to put two of our passions together, community work and food, which we feel has been a big success.

“We have invested a lot of our personal time and money into making Origin a success over the past five years, we have moved past the point of breaking even, only for someone else to just walk in.

“Of course I am upset that I will have to leave the café, my husband will need to start looking for a new job as will the other people the café employs.

“Our main concern, however, is for the elderly lunch club. I worry that it might cease along with services that we have offered.

“If the trustees had come to us about money, there could have been a discussion we could have played a part in. It would have been difficult but we could at least have been part of the process.

“We just hope that whoever takes over the café from us remembers Turnberrie’s is a community facility and serving that purpose should come first.

South Gloucestershire Council refrained from commenting stating that, while they own the centre, it is the subject of a 20-year lease to Thornbury Community Buildings Trust from May 2007, who in turn have sublet space to the café.

Meanwhile talks over the future of the Krunch Youth Centre are ongoing.

None of the trustees at Turnberrie’s was available for comment this week.