THE husband and wife team behind the Bridge Inn at Ratho near Edinburgh has taken on two pubs in the Fife coastal village of Elie.
Graham and Rachel Bucknall are now at the helm of The Ship Inn and sister venue The 19th Hole with plans to fully refurbish both premises, including adding bedrooms at The Ship Inn.
The acquisition of the pubs from Richard and Jill Phillip comes four years after the Bucknalls bought and refurbished the Bridge Inn, which has an AA Rosette and was named Best Pub in Scotland at this year’s AA Hospitality Awards.
Graham described Elie as a “wonderful place to live, work and visit”.
“With Fife’s strength in local food and drink, we’re looking forward to working with local farmers and producers to develop the menus,” he said.
“The area is already recognised as something of a foodie haven and we want to add to that, boosting growth by appealing to locals and visitors alike.
“We have great ideas for both places and we look forward to working and talking with all of our regular customers about our plans before putting them into place.
“It will take time but we hope by next Easter people will start to see some exciting changes.”
