Brothers John and Alexander Main Bochel grateful for support in bid for 30-year lease of the Strathnairn Beach Café in seaside town
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Two chefs have been overwhelmed by the positive reaction to their plans to invest in a popular beach café visited by people from across the Highlands.
Brothers John (37) and Alexander (36) Main Bochel, took over the Strathnairn Beach Café – also known as the links tearoom – last year when they returned to their home town of Nairn after careers in the hospitality trade in the UK and abroad.
They were pleased to move a step closer to securing a 30-year lease for the property when Nairnshire councillors gave the move the go-ahead.
If approved by the sheriff court, it will provide Nairn Common Good Fund with a guaranteed long-term rental income, while giving the brothers the security of a lengthy agreement so they can invest in the property and see a return on their money. Located beside the Team Hamish splash pad, the café is on common good land, and the lease was due to expire in less than 10 years.
“We are delighted,” John said. “This means we can move forward with our plans and invest in the property.
“We both grew up here, and our summers were spent at the seaside and at the links, so it’s a great opportunity to run a business here on our own doorstep.
“We have no immediate plans to replace the building. But getting the longer-term lease makes it more viable to do that if we want to somewhere along the line. In the meantime, we have been overwhelmed by the response from the public.”
Positive feedback was received during a public consultation on the idea of a 30-year lease.
Nairnshire committee chairman Tom Heggie said: “The projected rental income from the long lease of the links tearoom will undoubtedly provide security and a degree of certainty to the Nairn Common Good Fund over the next three decades.
“Having this financial safeguard will allow the common good fund to provide further investment to the Nairnshire area, to the benefit of our communities and local residents.”
Separately, councillors decided a dilapidated building located near the tearoom should be demolished at a cost of around £5800 which would have to be paid for by the Nairn Common Good Fund, if approved by the sheriff court.
