Two Perthshire sisters are to open a café and bar at a local winery next week, despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Linsay and Holly Duncan of Inchture will get the keys to their café – The Pickled Peacock – on February 1 at the Cairn O’Mohr winery in Errol.
Due to current lockdown restrictions, the duo aim to open for business on March 1 as a takeaway.
When restrictions ease further, they will open fully as a café, with a separate play area for children.
Linsay said: “We are born and bred in the Carse of Gowrie, and it is an absolute privilege to be opening up The Pickled Peacock in an area that means so much to us.
“We have great support and by using local craftsman, local artisan producers and working with the winery we will be creating an experience that will make the area proud.
“I have been working with Cairn O’Mohr for seven years and I also have a fine food promotional company based in Inchture, and along with my sister Holly – who was a Relationships Manager for Amex – it made sense to get together and start a family company.”
She added: “We are all about local produce and celebrating that and the main thing we are wanting to do is work in partnership with the winery to create a destination, where you can have a wine tour then continue your experience with perhaps a pint of local cider, home baking and some delicious food.
“This is a family destination with a children’s play area and we will have binoculars and bird watching charts that the children can use to go out and spot the local birds.”
Meanwhile, Cairn O’Mohr has begun making a Pickled Peacock wine, which hopes to strengthen ties between the two organisations.
But despite the uncertainty brought on by Covid-19, the sisters are determined to make their café work.
“We do know of course that we will have some challenges to face, but we really are confident that we can offer something very unique, and we will do what we did well in 2019, and that is adapt”, Linsay said.
“We are under no illusion that this will be an easy start, but nothing that’s worth it really is so we will do all we can to make this a success.”
