Former Nicol’s Bar set for a brand new start
Former Nicol's bar eyesore to be refurbished
AN iconic former Kirkcaldy pub is set to rise from the ruins with a £500,000 facelift.
The old Nicol’s bar and former Mamma Mia’s Pizzeria is to be gutted from top to bottom in a joint venture between Kirkcaldy publican George Mackay and Caldeonian Heritable Ltd, an Edinburgh-based property and asset management company with almost 300 pubs, clubs and restaurants on its books - including The Dome, in George Street.
The venue, which has lain empty and fallen into disrepair over the past decade, was one of the town’s most popular pubs and restaurants during its heyday in the 1980s and 90s but after it closed it was left untended and has become a major eyesore at the busy junction.
Now George and his partners plan to resurrect it and make it one of the town’s best pubs and eateries, with an opening date of this summer.
“It will be run by my daughter Dallas who has worked with me since she was 10 years old, so she has plenty of experience in the field,” explained George, the owner of the Path Tavern for the past two years, the Novar Bar for five and who built and ran Top O’The Toun for 25 years.
George has been in discussions with Caledonian Heritable for a few years about taking on the venture and has decided now is the right time.
“Dallas and I are meeting with the roofer and the designer to go over the plans this week and work will start as soon as possible.
“The place is just a mess and around 200 pigeons and quite a few rats have been living there for years, so it will be completely gutted and opened up to form one big area. Dallas has been working on the design and has a few names in mind, but it won’t be called Nicol’s.
“The roof will be the first thing to be done as it has all fallen in and there are holes in the walls to be fixed, so it’s going to be a big job, but we will open at some point this summer.”
Graeme Arnott, a director with Caledonian Heritable, added: “We have had the site for some time and we are happy to be developing it with a local operator who has had a lot of success.
“It will be good to get a derelict place back to life and to create investment and employment in the town.”
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Kirkcaldy
Monday 20 May 2013
Today
Light showers
Temperature: 8 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 6 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North
