George Clooney visits homeless support cafe in Edinburgh

Actor George Clooney arrived in Edinburgh, Scotland on Thursday to offer his support to a sandwich shop which hires staff who were once homeless.

A large crowd gathered in Edinburgh’s Rose Street and cheered Clooney as he visited the shop, which is part of a chain that donates all its profits to charity.

He stopped to greet some of those who had waited for hours in the cold, and described the social enterprise as “fantastic”.

“It’s pretty amazing, and I’m looking forward to seeing it, I haven’t seen it up close yet,” Clooney said. “I like what they’re doing, I think it’s a very important cause. I think the idea that we can all participate in everyone’s difficulties is really important.”

He said he “didn’t know” which kind of sandwich he would try in Social Bite but promised to buy a loyalty card.

Clooney arrived in the city after accepting an invitation from Social Bite co-founder Josh Littlejohn, who has also set up the Scottish Business Awards which the actor will attend later.

Social Bite gives all of its profits to good causes and operates a ”suspended” coffee and food programme where customers can pay for a hot drink or meal for a homeless person.

A quarter of the workforce in the five Social Bite shops across Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen is formerly homeless.

Speaking after Clooney left, Mr Littlejohn said he had “donated £1,000 by all accounts, and also handed over a £5 note inside”.

“We knew that George is a really committed humanitarian, he has his own charity in Sudan, so we reached out to that charity and invited him over to Scotland. “We said we would help fund raise for his charity and invited him to our Social Bite cafe, and to our delight he accepted.”

Clooney will also have lunch at a secret location later in the day with 32-year-old wedding planner Heather McGowan, who won a competition to meet him.

PA