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Vegan cafe Fortify on Maidstone High Street to close its doors on Monday

By: Natalie Tipping

Published: 15:50, 07 October 2016

A popular vegan cafe is to close its doors for the final time on Monday.

Fortify Cafe has faced a difficult few years, having opened in 2009 during the recession.

Despite a surge in sales in recent months due to the growing popularity of clean eating and veganism, the damage was unfortunately already done.

James Hooper, the owner of the cafe, recently launched a crowdfunding campaign to try to raise £50,000 to save the business.

The independent eatery has now been almost entirely gutted however, with a sign in the window to say that Monday will be the last day to "grab a bargain - everything must go".

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The cafe was previously awarded a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence for four years in a row, and has also had a famous customer in Beatle Sir Paul McCartney.

The crowdfunding campaign was split into three parts, with the first requiring £22,000 to secure its lease on the High Street.

Mr Hooper also hoped to revamp the front of house and kitchen areas to improve service and efficiency, which would cost £13,700.

Finally, redecorating, CCTV, and revamping the exterior would cost £7,000.

The cafe has remained open to the public in recent days, but only to sell off the fixtures and fittings.

It will close for good at 2pm on Monday.

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