New cafe opening in historic Kirkcaldy property on the town's waterfront

Ricky Barclay and his wife Marzena are looking forward to opening their new cafe this weekend on Halloween.

The couple have been working hard in the premises these past few weeks to ensure the business is ready to open on Saturday and Marzena said it is a dream come true to have her own coffee shop.

She said: “It has been a huge dream of mine for 20 years – from the time I saw a cafe in my hometown in Poland. I just thought I would love to have something like that but I never thought that would actually happen!

"I remember thinking when I was pregnant with our daughter and we were out walking along the Prom that there was no-where for us to sit and have a coffee.”

Ricky said they had been looking for the right premises for a while to make his wife’s dream a reality.

"I had been looking for somewhere that suits what we want to do,” he said.

"We saw this shop just after lockdown but we had to wait to view it because the Scottish Historic Buildings Trust (SHBT) is the property landlord and a lot of its staff were furloughed.

"The lease just started a month ago.”

However, while the couple were not sold on the front of the property, it had something special which clinched the deal.

Ricky, who has previously worked as a chef, continued: “The front is a great location for the prom but the courtyard and the garden at the back is absolutely beautiful. It really is a hidden gem.

"So many people are not aware of the garden and the courtyard at the back and that they are free to use it – a lot of work has been done by the Trust to have it look the way it would have done when it was the original Merchant’s House.

"We are putting seating in the courtyard so people can sit down and relax there, or at seating in the garden, with a coffee.”

The couple are planning to sell homemade food including deli sandwiches, paninis, soups and homemade speciality cakes as well as Barista-style coffee, organic loose tea, pink hot chocolate and soft drinks.

They also plan to do afternoon teas with a Polish twist and celebration cakes.

Marzena said: “My husband is Scottish and I am Polish so we want to offer a mix of both our cultures.”

Elizabeth Mackay, Trust property manager, said: “SHBT are delighted to welcome Richard and his family to Laws Close, locally known as “The Merchants House”, it is perfectly located for passing visitors and the sea view is splendid as is the Merchants Garden situated to the rear of the property.

"We believe the Merchants House to be the second oldest house in Kirkcaldy dating back to the 1500’s.”

She added: "We trust that all clients to the Merchants House Café will enjoy the history/ sea views/garden and of course the excellent friendly service provided by this family run café.”

The Merchants House Cafe will be open seven days a week and will open this Saturday at 9.30am.

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