A much-loved bar serving exclusively non-alcoholic drinks has announced it will close its doors to “take time to rest and restore”.

Torstigbar in George Street, Kemp Town, brought a unique concept to Brighton in 2022 when it opened a bar and bottle shop serving alcohol-free beers, wines and spirits.

However, the owners of the bar say they have been “running on empty” and will now take some time away from the business temporarily.

Luke and Emmi Cousins, the couple who own the bar, said in a statement on social media: “For a while now we’ve been running on empty.

“We care so passionately about our cause – providing a safe and inclusive evening venue, delicious alcohol-free drinks and of course the community that we’ve built along the way.

“We definitely raised the bar for low-alcohol drinks and loved proving to you how good they can really be.”

Torstigbar opened its doors in December 2022 selling low and no alcohol drinks including one of the only draught Guinness 0.0 machines outside of Ireland.

Luke and Emmi also said that the cost of living crisis had forced the couple back into full-time employment to support the business.

The couple previously said they would donate a share of their profits to Alcohol Change UK and said they would “honour that promise” by making their own donation.

Patrons of the bar took to social media to share their sadness at the closure of the bar saying they were “gutted” and “very sad”.

The bar had gone from strength to strength and set up a pop-up in London last month after being named the official bar of Alcohol Change UK’s Dry January campaign.

Research from Alcohol Change UK found that 30 per cent of men and over 25 per cent of women wanted to reduce the amount of alcohol they drink in 2024.

Luke previously told The Argus that the name of the bar was derived from the word Torstig in Danish, meaning thirsty.

The idea for the bar was set up after Luke travelled to Denmark and drank a “really good” non-alcoholic beer.