Kenny Mitchell, owner of The Scullery in Dundee’s Broughty Ferry says he is waiting to get his shop “up to scratch” before he reopens in the middle of this month. “Technically we could have opened from April 5 when Scotland allowed homeware retailers to reopen,” he notes.
The Scullery is a relative newcomer, established in October 2019, but Kenny has still found plenty of projects to give the store a makeover during lockdowns.
“We’ve put in a new double glazed front window, with a new sign painted, and we’re changing the work surface for the cash desk,” he reports. “As well as painting and general DIY, I have fitted new storage units for our basement stock room, which is now re-arranged to be more user friendly.”
Kenny continues: “I’m pretty confident about reopening and so I have bought a lot of new stock and taken on some new suppliers. We’re also planning a new website with an online shop.”
The “hardest” thing recently has been the need to take deliveries at home while the shop has been shut, find space to check them and then transport them to the shop, as well as “having to do a lot on my own,” without the usual help of his mother-in-law, Audrey during the pandemic. However, Kenny acknowledges: “We have been fortunate that the Scottish government has been supportive with grants.”
Above: The Scullery’s Kenny Mitchell and his wife Nicola, who provides some extra help on Saturdays when the shop is open.
