A COMMUNITY café ran by a dedicated group of volunteers celebrated its first anniversary this month.

The Ark café, based in St John’s Church Hall in Sandiway, originally started out in Sandiway Library.

Following positive feedback, the church decided to open a permanent café in a room attached to the church hall that that was not in use.

Church fundraisers managed to raise £11,000 to help fund the refurbishment, which was then matched by the National Lottery.

The work took around six months, and then the café officially opened in February 2016.

To celebrate its one-year anniversary, a birthday event was held on Friday, February 17.

Kathryn Holmes, The Ark manager, said: “It went very well. Customers received three birthday cakes for every hot drink. That was really successful.

“The café was pretty much full the whole time – we think people went for the cake.”

Support for the café has steadily grown over the past 12 months. After a slow start, word has now spread and it has now become a popular destination for residents.

“It has grown over the past year,” Kathryn said. “It was quiet to start with but it has started to catch on.

“We get very good write-ups and we get people of all ages.”

Currently the café has 34 volunteers who work on a rotor.

“Everybody lives in the village,” Kathryn said. “All of the volunteers are excited and very enthusiastic. We have a grand coffee machine. The coffee here is good. It has got a real buzz, it’s really nice.”

The café is strictly not-for-profit, and any profits that it does make are reinvested into the community.

Profits from the café’s first year in business were split between Cuddington Primary school and Sandiway Primary School.

The café also provide takeaways to both schools every Friday.

The café is open every Friday from 8.45am to 2pm during term time and 10am to 2pm during the school holidays.

The Ark serves up freshly ground coffee, speciality teas, locally-baked cakes and light lunches are available.

For more information call 01606 889879 or visit facebook.com/arkcafesandiway