A PAIR of Scottish entrepreneurs have opened two very different venues within days of each other after taking on the leases with pub company Hawthorn Leisure.
Kevin Bowie and Stephen Warisito, owners of TW Pubs, have opened Mr Wu’s, which is described as an Asian-themed ‘kitchen disco’ in the Shawlands area of Glasgow, and a community pub, The Weavers, in Bowie’s hometown of Condorrat near Cumbernauld.
The new outlets take the group’s portfolio to six; it already operated four venues leased from Iona Pub Partnership.
The duo invested £60,000 to turn the former Hickory’s Steak House on Kilmarnock Road, which had been closed since last summer, into Mr. Wu’s.
The eatery serves pan-Asian dishes, cocktails and Chinese beer brand Tsingtao, which has sponsored the venue.
Spread across two floors, Mr. Wu’s features Chinese-style red lantern lighting, ping-pong and pool tables as well as retro arcade game machines.
Bowie said: “Stephen’s parents run successful Chinese restaurants in and around Glasgow and Falkirk, and we wanted to bring an Asian flavour to our latest pub venture.
“It’s really exciting for us, because this is the first time we’ve been able to realise our own concept from scratch.
“And we believed the music people would want to listen to while they’re enjoying their food and drink would be disco, and we’ll have DJs playing classic disco tracks on Friday nights and at weekends.”
Community bar The Weavers, which had been closed for six months, was also overhauled before reopening.
The spend, which was jointly funded with £66,000 from Hawthorn, has given the pub new interior décor, furnishings and flooring.
In addition, the venue’s function room was given a new look and is said to be able to better host large family gathering and live music.
Bowie said the pub needed “brought up-to-date, having not been touched for around 20 years”.
He added: “It’s right in the middle of lots of housing, and will be a real community-focused venue where people can enjoy good times and create happy memories.”
Gerry Carroll, chief executive of Hawthorn Leisure, said: “TW Pubs had been talking to us on and off for some time, and now they’ve relaunched two of our pubs within a few days of each other.
“We knew that they shared the values that Hawthorn Leisure holds dear, which is one of the reasons they were excited about working with us and sharing our vision. It really is a perfect fit.”
