Planning in Moray:- Coffee shop hopes for Fochabers
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The team behind the Red Lion Tavern in Fochabers are looking to turn the pub's lounge into a coffee shop.
A planning application had been lodged with Moray Council.
If permission is granted, then work should begin in September, allowing the coffee shop to open to customers the following month.
Callum Russell is the group operations director for Highland Travel Inns which has run the Red Lion for the past 24 years.
He said: "We've seen people's drinking habits change since the pandemic.
"Folk are more likely to drink at home now because it's a little bit cheaper.
"At the same time, we reckon a coffee shop is something that Fochabers is missing.
"It's got cafés and restaurants but nowhere you can go and meet your friends, or take your dog or your laptop.
"The food that we intend to offer will be home-made and there'll be baguettes.
"Our coffee will come from Caber Coffee in Aberdeen."
The refit would involve taking away part of the kitchen to create a toilet for the coffee shop.
However, the Red Lion, which has been in operation since 1898, should be able to remain open throughout.
Highland Travel Inns also has the Gordon Arms Hotel just down the road in Fochabers as well as the Pub in the Square in Buckie.
It believes that the coffee shop would create about five extra jobs.
View the full application HERE
