A POPULAR Aberdeen cafe has been forced to close unexpectedly, with a crowdfunder set up to help pay for repairs.
Mount, an artisanal coffee shop on the city’s Upperkirkgate, said that drainage issues with the buildings pipes had caused significant water damage.
The cafe’s owners said they were unsure how long any repairs would take.
A crowdfunder has been set up to help pay “towards the cost of repairs or any other losses”, and has so far raised more than £450.
Announcing the closure, Mount said on social media: “We have some really RUBBISH news. As some of you may know we’ve been having some issues with our pipes / drainage at the cafe!
“It is a mystery to us, Scottish Water, and many a plumber as to where our drain is located to fix the problem! We were hoping it would be resolved within a day or two but we got the dreaded news today that we are going to have to go through the floor in the cafe to find the pipe.
“We are absolutely gutted.
“Sadly, this does mean closing. It’s hard to say right now when the cafe will be back open as we are currently sawing up our floorboards! But we will keep you all updated!”
The cafe said they had around 200 pastries, bakes and cakes they would be unable to sell without opening, and offered them up to anyone for “click and collect”.
It later announced that all of the pastries had been sold, adding: “Thank you again for the support. This community is so special.”
In another update on Saturday, Mount confirmed the damage was extensive, writing: "Some good and bad news ... the blockage has been cleared but the drain that our pipes connect to has collapsed.
“We're not sure how long it'll be until this is repaired! The back of our poor café has no floor and there's quite a lot of water damage.
“Thank you to everyone who has messaged, we've been overwhelmed by the support! It's hard to get back to everyone but please know we see you and your support means a lot."
Local resident Scott Pirie has set up the crowdfunder to help the cafe which will have to close "for an unknown length of time".
He wrote on the money-raising page: “It’s the best cafe and Aberdeen and they’re the nicest people I have ever met and don’t deserve to go through this, so any help we can give them will go a long way.”
