A Dumfries restaurant business has fallen victim to the coronavirus crisis.
Stuart and Sharon Black said it is with “the greatest sadness” that they’ve been forced to permanently close the doors of the Doonhamer Bistro.
Devastated Stuart, 54, said: “We invested everything we had into the business when we took it over.
“This has been such a devastating time for us and we were left with no option but to close our doors.
“Having the Doonhamer was our dream and we thought we’d be there until old age.
“However we are both asthmatic so were in no position to adapt to doing takeaways when the lockdown measures came in.
“We have to be in total isolation as our parents also all have underlying health conditions.
“We are both in bits; just devastated, but this is the harsh reality of Covid-19 for small businesses.”
Stuart and Sharon, 44, took over the business five years ago and changed its name from Number 17 back to its original Doonhamer.
The couple invested everything they had in redecorating, new signage and on fixtures and fittings.
They also started to cater again for school children as well as extending the business opening hours.
But Covid-19 has put paid to years of toil.
Stuart added: “The Doonhamer originally opened about 50 years ago and so many people remember it fondly.
“We always wanted to recreate those memories for our customers, one of whom is 99-years-old and has been eating there for decades.
“We’d love nothing more than for this situation to go away and to reopen, but it’s too late for us now.”
Stuart also hit back at a claim on social media that they “took Covid cash” from the council “and ran”.
He said: “Covid cash will not repay our lost investment or our families income for very long. We got the bare minimum.
“We still have bills to pay and shopping to buy and we have an eight-year-old daughter. We have basically been left with nothing. We have no idea what direction we’re going to go in next.
“Despite everything, our family are so grateful for the years of support from all our wonderful customers.”
Customers posted messages on social media about how sorry they were to hear of the closure.
Peter Jamieson said: “The Doonhamer has been part of the fabric of life in Dumfries for as long as I can remember - from going in with my parents when I was young to taking my own children there on a Saturday morning after swimming lessons. I’m really sorry to hear this.”
