High street round-up: Fife publican's 3rd venue, Dundee Overgate shop closure and Perth Costa opens
The Courier has rounded up the latest from pubs, restaurants and shops across Tayside, Fife and Stirling in one handy place.
Our regular updates will bring you up to speed with what's going on in your local high streets and shopping centres.
Lauren Hutchison, 26, who already runs The Steadings and Alfie's in Kirkcaldy, has taken over The Glen Tavern in Dunfermline – promising 'positive changes'.
The Pittencrieff Street venue shut suddenly in February when the firm previously running it went into liquidation.
A new tenant is being sought for a historic former Bridge of Allan pub and restaurant.
The Old Bridge Inn on Inverallan Road, which dates from 1710, is being offered for lease as a 'rare opportunity'.
Kirkcaldy's former Society nightclub has reopened as The Venue.
Ross Anderson, 37, has taken over the Charlotte Street building alongside a group of silent investors with The Courier invited for a first look.
An image of a new McDonald's restaurant planned for Dundee has been revealed as part of a public consultation.
Readers of The Courier have also reacted to the plans for the firm's fourth city outlet.
A new Costa store in Perth has opened despite damage to its store window.
Costa Coffee has relocated from its Scott Street unit to High Street.
A Dundee cafe is set to open a new coffee shop in St Andrews.
Empire State Coffee is taking over the former Rocca Italian deli on the Fife town's Bell Street.
A Stirlingshire cafe and deli is set to close after 12 'wonderful' years.
Rhubarb Lime on Main Street in Kippen will shut on May 25 with owner Shona Sanders thanking customers.
Pizza Hut has confirmed its new location in Stirling.
The chain will move into the former Papa John's unit on Goosecroft Road in the coming weeks from its former home on Cowane Street.
Restaurants across Tayside, Fife and Stirling have been recognised at the Scottish Curry Awards 2025.
The 17th annual awards were held in Glasgow last week.
A Highland Perthshire woman who beat cancer has opened a new coffee truck on the banks of Loch Tay.
Santra Taylor, 41, opened Tay-Lawers Coffee in Ardeonaig on Friday.
A shopkeeper in Dunkeld is urging the public to buy local after a closure scare.
Munur Kara paused trading at the shop for several weeks, citing financial hurdles faced by small businesses, and says he can only survive with help from the public.
The Regatta shop in Dundee's Overgate shopping centre is to shut.
Signs advertising a closing-down sale appeared in the shop window last week.
Fife Council has asked for more time to decide on plans for a new Lidl supermarket in Dunfermline.
Details of some objections to the plans for the former King Malcolm Hotel site have also been revealed.
Another retail building on the Murraygate in Dundee city centre has been put up for sale.
The unit currently houses Horeb Food Company on the ground floor and The Hair Lounge on the two upper floors, which have long-term leases.
A barbershop in Crieff that was run by the same owner for more than 50 years has come onto the market.
Naismith's on East High Street – also known as Johnny the Barbers – has been put up for sale.
A new beauty salon has opened in Dundee offering hairdressing, makeup and men's hair loss services.
Niamh Kilcullen and Caitlin Harris, both 24, have opened Blend Studios in a former window showroom on Mains Road on the edge of Hilltown.
Danish furniture and homeware brand Sostrene Grene is opening in the Thistles shopping centre in Stirling this summer.
The firm – which has an outlet in Dundee's Overgate – will move into a unit next to Superdrug.
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Telegraph
19-07-2025
- Telegraph
I stayed in one of the multimillion-pound Omaze houses. This is what it was like
Every time I pick up my phone for a guilty scroll on Instagram, or turn on the TV mid-day, there it is: an advert for Omaze. It's usually a jolly media personality extolling the virtues of the latest prize – a swimming pool here, a cinema there. The company has recognised something in the British public that has enabled them to captivate the nation; our love of a good raffle mixed with our addiction to property porn, tied up with a neat feel-good factor bow (a guaranteed minimum donation of £1m and 17 per cent of ticket sales from each draw go to charity). The prize may be a multimillion pound house, but – with upkeep costs sky high – an overwhelming trend has seen all but a handful of the 39 winners to date choose to sell up and cash out, rather than move in. Indeed, April's prize, a Highland Perthshire property on the banks of Loch Rannoch, won by 81-year-old Patricia Moule, went on the market almost immediately – at the end of June – and is currently listed on Rightmove for £3,975,000. There is one alternative, however: renting out the property to holidaymakers. This is what Lisa Morgan chose to do, after she won a £4.5m home in Cornwall, along with £250,000 in cash, in September 2024 (and hit the headlines when she turned up for her 11.5 hour shift as an NHS nurse in Merseyside the next day). Her home, Seahorses, in Maenporth near Falmouth, is one of just two properties in the UK openly advertised as an Omaze-winner's home – the other being Post Knott Lodge in Bowness-on-Windermere in the Lake District. The opportunity for a real-life snoop around one of these media-famous houses was too tempting an opportunity to pass up, so I tracked Seahorses down on Cornish Holiday Cottages, booked in, and bundled my family off for a weekend by the sea. I'll admit, the struggle to get our compact crossover SUV up the steep incline approaching the house filled me with a sudden apprehension – but once I was out of the car, punching in the code for the electric gate and confronted with the spectacular views, my fears abated. If the south Cornwall coast is good for anything, it's a touch of drama. It was a rare, sunny day in early May with clear blue skies and a bracing breeze, and across the lawn I could see straight out to sea, with Falmouth blinking in the sun on the horizon. I traced the coastal path – accessible through the gate at the end of the garden – scrawling away through the lush green clifftops opposite, the grass dropping into dramatic granite grey towards the crashing seas below, while Pendennis Castle stood in stately, historic contrast to the glass-clad luxury home beside me. 'Swimming pool!' screamed my three-year-old son, breaking me from my quiet moment of wonder. The family had begun exploring, and my husband was already rolling back the electric top on the outdoor heated pool – my children watching, delighted, from the safety of the pool house. Seahorses feels like the sort of place that's been designed so that you hardly ever need to leave it – and over the next three days, aside from a trip to a local supermarket (to supplement the lovely Cornish Food Box which was left for us), and a spot of exploring, we barely did. Open plan in design, its two lounges have very distinct purposes: a smaller room with sofas, an Xbox and even a VR headset was clearly intended for teens; while a larger communal living space was connected to the kitchen and offered sublime sea views. There were also indoor and outdoor dining areas, a barbecue, fire pit, hot tub, four additional bedrooms – all with electronic blinds – multiple bathrooms, a boot room and utility space. There was even a wine room – although this, sadly (if not unsurprisingly), had not been stocked. But the highlight (for me at least) was the turret, reached by a winding, wooden, floating staircase, at the top of which was a desk and telescope, and a door opening onto a large, private terrace complete with sun loungers. A sun trap with outstanding views. 'From the moment I walked into the house I knew I had to keep it,' Morgan told me. 'The emotion I felt was quite overwhelming, knowing what I was about to give to my family.' 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Seahorses has five bedrooms (sleeps up to 10) and six bathrooms, plus a hot tub, swimming pool, electric car point, dishwasher and woodburner. It is also pet-friendly. There is limited availability in August and September, although the calendar opens up in October. From £3,096 a week.
The National
28-06-2025
- The National
Fife-based manufacturing firm announces 90 jobs face redundancy
Greenfold Systems, a manufacturing firm based in Dunfermline, confirmed that a notice of risk of redundancy had been issued to its employees on Friday, according to The Courier. The firm, which specialises in metal fabrication, cable and wiring along with assembly, said the decision comes following the announcement by one of its major customers, bus firm Alexander Dennis Ltd (ADL), plans to move its operation to England, closing its Scottish sites. Reportedly, around half of Greenfold's staff work on constructing the sides, interdecks and roofs of buses for ADL, with one of the three buildings owned by the Dunfermline firm dedicated to the work. READ MORE: Irn-Bru owner in advanced talks with potential buyer for drinks brand facing closure Earlier in June, ADL announced its plans to close its sites in Falkirk and Larbert and move its manufacturing to Scarborough, which would lead to around 400 jobs being lost. Greenfold Systems managing director, Craig Waterson, told The Courier his firm was preparing for all eventualities. He said: 'What happens with ADL remains to be seen. We would, of course, like a clearer answer but we're not going to get one any time soon. 'A communication has been issued to staff essentially telling them that their jobs are at risk as a result of the ADL situation. 'We will give another update when we know more. We are weighing up life with and without ADL.' (Image: PA) Greenfold was supplying parts for 12 buses per week to ADL a few years ago, but the number has gradually reduced to just five a week. However, Waterson said the rest of the company's order book was strong as he added: 'It's a difficult situation. We've got a good business but the ADL situation will affect us to some degree. 'We have a business continuity plan in the event of any customer pull-out. ADL is a sizeable customer. 'ADL have pulled out three times before and we've survived the previous three occasions, not without difficulty. The strength of the rest of our order book is good. 'We are under consultation with ADL and I hope that has a positive outcome.' When ADL announced its plans to move manufacturing away from Scotland, the firm warned that for every job in bus manufacturing, there is a multiplier of three to four jobs in the wider supply chain and support services. At the time, Paul Davies, Alexander Dennis's president and managing director, said the proposed plans were 'extremely regrettable,' but added his firm 'must take significant action' to drive efficiency. MSPs were told this week the closure of ADL's Scottish sites would be 'catastrophic' for an area already struggling following the recent wind-down of Scotland's last refinery in Grangemouth. Appearing before the Economy and Fair Work Committee at Holyrood, Derek Thomson, the Scotland regional secretary for trade union Unite, said: 'It'll be catastrophic in Falkirk and Larbert to lose that amount of jobs.'
The National
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- The National
Irn-Bru owner in 'advanced talks' with buyer for Strathmore Water
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