A Dundee restaurateur has been left fuming after her proposal for a restaurant in the basement of the Caird Hall was rejected because it did not fit with the “vision for the waterfront”.
Donna Ghatak, who runs the Shaheen takeaway on the Nethergate with her husband Sanat, submitted proposals to Dundee City Council to open a curry house in one of the units behind the Caird Hall.
Despite receiving encouragement from the council – and being asked to sign a guarantee they would pay all staff at least the Scottish Living Wage of £8.45 – they were told their plans had been rejected.
Donna said they entered into discussions about opening a restaurant a year ago, when the council advertised for businesses to run cafes or restaurants in the units on Shore Terrace.
She claims they were then told their proposal for a restaurant was “not part of (director of city development) Mike Galloway’s vision for the waterfront”.
She said: “We were hoping to open an Indian restaurant and had visions of a really classy one.
“Because it was going to be part of the Caird Hall we envisaged having photographs of the people who had performed there, because that is part of Dundee’s heritage.”
Donna said she and her husband had already discussed their plans for the unit with an architect.
The St Andrews Brewing Co is set to sign a lease for two of the units and plans to create a £1 million pub and restaurant, creating 50 jobs in the process.
The company opened a brewpub in St Andrews in 2013 and has also acquired two bars in Edinburgh.
Donna said she believes Dundee companies should have been given preference.
She said: “It was supposed to be for local businesses. I know St Andrews isn’t far away, but it isn’t exactly local.
“With the V&A opening in September, you’d have thought they would have wanted people in and places open by then.
“We didn’t even get a letter. We had an appointment with a council officer and were told it ‘was not part of Mike Galloway’s vision for the waterfront’.”
A Dundee City Council spokesperson said: “It would not be appropriate to comment on any individual commercial negotiation.
“One double unit has now been leased and is in the fit out stage, while negotiations continue about the other double unit.”
