THE COMMUNITY has waved farewell to much-loved Weymouth beach cafe Aunty Vi's.

Popular local man Peter Townsend will no longer run the business, and has left after 16 years.

As reported, back in October 2020 a majority of town councillors voted to run the Brunswick café in-house, rather than holding a public tender exercise ahead of the lease ending this week.

The council said it wanted to run the cafe itself as a way to generate an income for the town's coffers to reinvest in local services and facilities.

But the decision was met by widespread outcry in the local community, with many residents expressing dismay over the loss of a family-run business.

People came along on Sunday to say goodbye to Peter whilst adhering to social distancing guidelines.

Today, Mr Townsend has spoken of his feelings on leaving the business - but said he is not permitted to discuss the particulars of business arrangements with the council.

He said: "Sunday was the last day here. I was presented with a picture of the hut signed by all the regulars, which was lovely. One lady turned up and had bought me cake and a bottle of wine.

"I'm obviously absolutely devastated to be leaving, and that the cafe will no longer be part of my family as I was hoping to retire and hand over the reins to my son George, so it would have become a younger person's place as well as being somewhere for older generations to continue to meet.

"It's the people I will miss - it's not just the café - it's named Aunty Vi's after my mum. Everybody knew my mum and dad. Everybody's gutted."

Among Peter's most treasured memories are summer paella nights and performances by local musician Darron Garnet.

"We always did it on carnival night, with Darron singing," Peter said.

"It all started with him walking by one carnival night and out of the blue he whipped out his phone and plugged it in and did a show for us - from then onwards he did one every year.

"Sometimes we raised money for various charities."

Peter was known for looking out for the less advantaged and homeless people. He added: "The deal was you could come here and be assured of a bite to eat and a hot drink," he said.

"There are tourists who come here year in, year out, since my children were small. Everybody knows Aunty Vi's as part of their extended family - from the pensioners who used to drink coffee here, to youngsters who had their first job at the cafe."

As for the future, Mr Townsend said he is still deliberating over what to do next - but that he wants to remain in contact with his much loved regular customers.

"The reality is we're all in touch, we might find a new venue where we can all meet," he said.