Malcolm Gray and Jon Eastwood (pictured) have invested £250K and re-opened The Melville Bar on William Street in Edinburgh, after taking a 15-year lease from London Town. The duo are part of the team behind the city’s Atholl Hotel. Malcom Gray said, “Jon and I have invested a significant sum in transforming The Melville through a [...]

Duddingston Leisure has spent around £100k refurbishing the former News Room on Edinburgh’s Leith Street. It re-opened last month under new name, The Newsroom Bar & Eatery, and the GM is Harry Bennett. He said, “We have stepped up the food offering, with a strong emphasis on homemade and locally-sourced produce. He continued, “In terms [...]

As we went to press The Angels’ Share, formerly The Hudson, is getting set to open in Edinburgh. The new look hotel, bar and club is a fresh initiative from Billy Lowe and Andy Pollard who have transformed the hotel that Lowe bought two years ago. Billy told DRAM, “I loved the idea of the [...]

Scotland had the highest hotel occupancy and revenue figures of any part of the UK amid a mixed picture for the sector during 2012 according to the latest report by accountants and business advisers PKF. The annual figures, which were clearly influenced heavily by Aberdeen, showed Scottish hotel occupancy was up 0.3% year on year [...]

The Hanging Bat Beer Cafe on Edinburgh’s Lothian Road opened at the end of last year and its interior is as quirky as its name. The former Mr Modos, now jointly owned by Gavin Ferguson and Chris Mair, also brews its own beer, and this was a major design consideration in the £100k spend. Gavin [...]

Talk about looking after your VIP clients. Scottish jeweller ROX has unveiled a brand new Laurent-Perrier champagne bar in its private shopping lounge, the Thrill Room, at its new £1m flagship store in the Assembly Rooms on George Street, Edinburgh. It is, say the company, the first and only one of its kind in UK [...]

School friends Garreth Wood of Signature Pubs and Amicus Apple owner Calum Mackinnon have formed Amicus Ventures with the opening of the £1m Nox nightclub in Aberdeen. The high end club is on Justice Mill Lane, on the site of the former Bad Apple. The opulant club is situated over two floors with amphitheatre style [...]

Edinburgh’s Caledonian Hotel has had a £24m make-over and has just opened its doors to customers as The Caledonian, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel. This new addition to the world renowned Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts portfolio aims to continue the legacy of the Waldorf Astoria name, which promises guests an unparalleled experience when it comes [...]

David Johnston has been in the licensed trade since 1987, when he joined the Caledonian Hotel. Today, aged 41, he is probably best known for his involvement in the Montpelier Partnership where he has moved up through the ranks to become Development Director. But as well as his responsibilities there, he now has a further [...]

Edinburgh pub operators estimate that this year’s Edinburgh Festival has been the worst on record due to the Edinburgh City Licensing Board’s decision to award an excessive number of licences for ‘pop-up’ bars, some of which have been for huge venues. 240 occasional licences in total were issued which covered all or part of the [...]