A Dundee firm has completed a six-figure transformation of the historic McEwens of Perth building.
Tayside business Bliss Beds is hoping to open in the St John Street premises on Monday.
The family behind the bedding firm has invested hundreds of thousands of pounds in the eight-week refurbishment.
Gary Gallacher runs the business with his sons Liam, Gary and James.
He said refurbishing the building, which has been empty for a number of years, has been a challenging process.
McEwens operated in Perth for almost 150 years until 2016. The following year department store Beales went into the building. However, Beales collapsed into administration in early 2020.
The building has been largely untouched since.
Bliss Beds opening in Perth
Gary said: “We’ve spent a lot of time doing a lot of work. The whole family has been involved in getting it done.
“There has been a few unexpected twists with leaks and problems with the guttering which have set us back a bit.
“We couldn’t set up in the windows at the front because there was water coming through. The gutters had been neglected.
“We had painted window displays and when it rained heavily a week or so ago, it was damaged.”
He said the six-figure investment included a £30,000 upgrade in lighting, and a costly repair to the broken lift.
The firm has also spent about £150,000 on stocking the store.
While the team plan to open the shop on Monday, the café will remain closed.
“There was burst pipes underneath the toilets that we never knew about, so we’ll not be doing the café for another month or so,” Gary added.
“We’ll get the shop open and work on the café while we’re there.”
Why Perth expansion ‘just makes sense’
After weeks of evenings spent refurbishing the Perth store, Gary is looking forward to the doors opening.
He added: “It will be good to get the shop open.
“We’ve been there every night for about the last eight weeks so it has been a lot of hard work.
“We are going to be making a final push this weekend and hope to open on Monday.”
He said opening in the Fair City will allow Bliss Beds, which also has a store in Dundee’s Wellgate Shopping Centre, to expand.
“It just makes sense for us. Before we were trying to just work within a range of Dundee, and we’d catch the edge of Perth.
“But now we can target the Perth area and beyond, which is good.”
And Gary is confident the business will be a success in the city, despite a number of businesses closing in Perth recently.
He added: “We’ve been selling stuff in Perth from our Dundee store for a while.
“It just allows us to serve our customers from Perth and beyond.
“We’ll do everything to make it work. If it doesn’t, it won’t be through a lack of effort.”
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