A new high-end hospitality venue is set to open in Ayr town centre after Dominic and Angela Soocoormanee invested £400,000 in transforming a long-vacant Queens Court building.
The couple plan to launch Carrick and Stone at 29-32 Queens Court at the end of September. The whisky and wine lounge will occupy a 170-year-old building that had stood empty for five years.
The project is expected to create eight jobs when the venue opens. Dominic and Angela took over the premises in May and have since made a substantial personal investment in bringing their hospitality idea to life.
Restoring a vacant Ayr building
Work on the property has included repairing and cleaning its original sandstone, installing a log burner and turning the building’s anchor points into a feature. The couple also stripped back coverings, removed rotten flooring and renewed the bar.
“We've been able to strip back what was here, the walls were all covered up after five years lying empty. We've taken it back to the original brick. We've stripped out all the rotten flooring and renewed the bar.”
Angela brings experience from a career that included working at Prestwick Airport from the age of 17 and later working overseas as a special needs teacher. Dominic has 30 years’ experience in corporate real estate, including managing complex hospitality assets.
The couple have lived in Prestwick since 2016 and have two children. They say the new venue represents a long-held ambition to run their own business in Ayr.
Whisky tastings, local produce and new jobs
Carrick and Stone will offer high-end whisky and wine tastings, with experts invited to speak to customers. Whisky collected by the couple during their travels will be displayed alongside more regular drinks.
The food offer will focus on small plates and sharing platters, with the couple planning to source much of what they buy from Ayrshire and build the menu around local produce.
“We want a large part of what we buy to come from Ayrshire. Our food menu is all designed around local produce with small plates and sharing platters.”
Dominic said hiring locally and investing in the surrounding community were central to the business plan. He believes there is an untapped Ayrshire market for people seeking a premium place to enjoy a drink, potentially as an occasional weekly treat.
The couple visited similar venues in London, Glasgow and Edinburgh while developing the concept, and said their testing produced positive feedback. They describe Carrick and Stone as a premium venue but believe there is a sizeable market for it.
Final preparations are now under way before the couple open their doors. They are asking the Ayr community to support the new venture as they seek to contribute to the town-centre area’s regeneration.
“This is a real dream for us both and we are really excited about what's to come.”
Dominic added that the couple wanted to support as many local people as possible and said Ayr deserved another establishment offering something distinctive.
