One of Broughty Ferry’s most popular restaurants has been taken over by the owner of The Selkie.
Kelly-Anne Fairweather took the reigns of Sol Y Sombra earlier this month.
She said she is “delighted” to take on such a well known business alongside her current one and was excited to take-on such a loved eatery.
Talks had been ongoing for about six months after former owners Phil and Joanna Stewart decided they wanted to sell the popular Spanish venue.
And The Selkie will continue to trade in Broughty Ferry and Dundee, Kelly-Anne promised, with Sol Y Sombra coming “into the family”.
Selkie owners buy Broughty Ferry’s Sol Y Sombra
Sol Y Sombra changed from the Ferry Inn to its current Iberian iteration in 2011.
And Kelly-Anne said they were keen to celebrate the venue’s storied history, opening up the bar as a drinks spot on Friday and Saturday once more.
“We took over on June 14, and have kept pretty quiet about it,” she said.
“In fact, some Selkie customers saw me working the kitchen in Sol Y Sombra and were confused, they panicked and laughed ‘we are not cheating on you, we promise!’.
“Sol Y Sombra is such a well-loved Broughty Ferry establishment. When we saw it was for sale, it became a pipe dream.
“It has taken about five months to get it over the line, and we are incredibly excited to get going.
“I think the Stewarts, who have sold it on, are pleased it has stayed with a local owner.
“We will work with the idea ‘if it’s not broke, don’t fix it’. We will ‘Selkie-fy’ it, put our touches on it, but apart from that it will be business as usual.”
Business as usual
Kelly-Anne promised customers that she will continue to run The Selkie restaurants.
She adds: “The Sol Y Sombra team is amazing, they know exactly what they are doing and we are very happy to have them join our amazing family too.
“Sol Y Sombra was of course the Ferry Inn before it changed to a restaurant. And we are going to try and open the bar on Friday and Saturday evenings too.
“It has such a rich history. One of the metal supports in the basement is a reclaimed piece of metal from the original Tay Bridge. It really is a fixture in the town and we are so pleased add it to our Selkie family.
“It is a privilege to take this venue on, a real pinch-me moment.”
Former owner’s ‘mixed feelings’ on selling
In a previous interview, Phil Stewart said he and his wife had “mixed feelings” over selling their beloved tapas restaurant.
The Ferry Inn had been owned by Phil’s father Jeff since the early 1990s.
The decision to change it from a pub into a restaurant was due to Phil’s passion for Spanish food.
And Joanna worked in the kitchen as chef for the first three years, making it one of Dundee’s highest ranked restaurants on TripAdvisor.
Conversation