A business owner hopes to bring back the “buzz” to the West End with the reopening of a vacant supermarket.
Eros Ltd has submitted an application to the council to take charge of operating the former Nisa store on the city’s Perth Road, which closed down suddenly in January.
Director Harris Aslam, who runs the company with fellow director Raza Rehman, said they want to restore the abandoned shop to its “former glory”.
He said: “We are considering several concepts for the store, including operating it as part of the Greens brand, similar to the one we operate in Tillicoultry.
“The Perth Road site is in a very good location, and it was unfortunate to see the shop close when it did.
“We really want to return the store to its former glory, and bring a bit of a buzz back to that area of the West End.
“We will work closely with the local West End community, and make the store exciting to visit.”
The company currently run Nisa-branded stores in Leven, Kirkcaldy, Markinch and Alloa.
Mr Aslam confirmed they plan on opening the store, if the licence is approved, by spring, but they would not be taking over the running of the Broughty Ferry store, which closed at the same time.
West End City Councillor Fraser Macpherson welcomed the news.
He said: “I am pleased to see that a new operator for the Nisa store in Perth Road appears to be taking shape.
“It is good news for the Perth Road shopping area that this – the largest shop unit on Perth Road – looks like being open again in the near future.
“The council has now established a working group to work with businesses in the Perth Road to promote the shopping area and it is good news that the number of empty shop units is reducing.
“We are confident there is a bright future for the area and will be taking a number of initiatives in the coming months to further assist the shopping area.”
The closure of the Perth Road supermarket followed several months of speculation over the store’s future, sparked on by emptying shelves and depleted stock levels.
Residents in Broughty Ferry were left without a Post Office branch after the Ferry store, which was operated by the same then-owner, shut down.
Staff apparently turned up at both stores on the day it was closed to find security guards on the door barring people from entering – unaware they had lost their jobs.
A social media page was set up in the closing months of the store’s operating time, in an attempt to make light there was “nothing in Nisa“.