More than £1 million was spent refurbishing the former industrial building
A HISTORIC building in Inverness has reopened as a bar for the second time this year after a major refurbishment.
Rose Street Foundry on the city’s Academy Street originally opened in March, just days before the country was put into lockdown. The venue occupies a category B listed building which was the former home of AI Welders and had been vacant for some time before being acquired by Cairngorm Taverns, the pub arm of Cairngorm Brewery.
A significant grant of more than £1 million was secured from the Inverness Townscape Heritage Project, which allowed the company to sympathetically restore and reopen the building as a bar and restaurant.
However, the original reopening was stymied by the COVID-19 lockdown and it was forced to close again just days after it had opened its doors.
The venue has now reopened its ground floor bar and aims to reopen the restaurant later this month.
A one-way socially-distanced layout is in place to help ensure the venue is COVID-compliant and customers are being served by table service.
Cairngorm Taverns managing director, Sam Faircliff, said opening Rose Street Foundry has been “a long and difficult process”.
“The renovation of this beautiful building was a massive undertaking in itself before being faced with the coronavirus pandemic just as we were due to open. However, I’m so glad to finally be able to open our doors, albeit in a reduced capacity and with the necessary safety measures in place.
“Rose Street Foundry has huge architectural and historic significance to Inverness and we felt a responsibility to restore it to the standard it deserves, so I’m delighted to now be able to show off all the hard work that has gone into its renovation.”
Cairngorm also operates The Winking Owl in Aviemore.
