Customers have been left “heartbroken” after the owner of an Indian takeaway revealed he would be closing for good.

Dabba - The Spice Pot has served up takeaways for the past seven years from its base in Martello Drive, Hythe.

Owner Sunny Ali has already started winding up the business, having closed the building on Saturday (November 30) night for the last time to walk-in customers.

Delivery-only takeaways will be available until next month, after which the business will shut down completely.

Mr Ali explained he could no longer run the Indian due to family commitments, but added the support from the Hythe community has been “incredible”.

The 34-year-old added: “I have a little one who has just turned two years old so I'm not able to dedicate the same amount of time to the business as I have done.

“I realised I had to make a choice. Being in the takeaway industry is quite cut-throat with the timings.

“On our last night of trading on Saturday almost everyone that turned up on our opening day was there on the last day. It's been an amazing journey.”

Despite the closure of the building, Mr Ali confirmed that Dabba would continue to serve its customers on JustEat until January 2025, as they still have access to the kitchen.

Mr Ali’s family also own The Clay Oven, which is an Indian takeaway based in Cheriton.

“From the New Year onwards, the site will be fully closed,” he went on.

“Once we fully say goodbye to Dabba we are going to continue to provide takeaways to Hythe from The Clay Oven.

“I want the residents to still have access to our food once we are gone.”

Following the announcement, customers expressed their dismay at the news.

Gary Jackson said: “I’m heartbroken.”

Michael Cannon added: “Oh no! Love you guys. I will miss our football chats.”

“Oh no! That sucks,” Katie Dempster said.

“I can’t thank them enough for all their support. I hope one day I will be able to open another Indian takeaway in Hythe…”

In August 2023, Dabba was hit with a one-star hygiene rating. In the report, the inspector said: “I found various foods in buckets on the floor defrosting, including an unlidded container of prawns.

“Food must not be placed on the floor where it can potentially be contaminated.”

As well as using tubs to unfreeze ingredients, the officer discovered the building had no hot water running to it.

However, by the end of the year, Mr Ali managed to turn the fortunes of the takeaway around and soon got back to a five-star rating.

He added: “The Hythe community has been very good to me throughout the whole period I’ve been here.

“I can’t thank them enough for all their support.

“I hope one day I will be able to open another Indian takeaway in Hythe.”